Annabelle Ewing's Brexit recovery plan for Scottish tourism
Annabelle Ewing, the Scottish National Party representative for Ochil and South Perthshire, has spent the past year drafting a recovery framework for tourism operators still reeling from the aftershocks of Brexit. For Australians who have booked winter breaks in Edinburgh or summer hikes on the Isle of Skye, the idea that political borders reshape travel is already familiar.
The parallels between Scotland and Australia's tourism economies run deeper than distance. Operators along the Great Ocean Road and in the Grampians face the same currency volatility and labour pinch that have squeezed Highland B&Bs since 2020. Ewing's proposals draw on conversations she has held with regional tourism bodies from Cairns to Launceston.
Her framework combines grant funding for micro-businesses, a revised seasonal worker scheme, and a renewed marketing push aimed at long-haul markets including Australia, Japan, and North America. Each strand reflects feedback gathered during her summer tour of tourism chambers from Inverness to Kelso.
With around sixty thousand tourism micro-businesses across Scotland and a sector contribution of roughly four billion pounds a year, the stakes are significant. Ewing frames her proposals as targeted support that can prevent rural operators from closing during what she calls the reset decade.
Direct grants for micro-tourism operators
The first pillar is a fund offering grants of between five thousand and twenty-five thousand pounds for small tourism operators. The money would cover booking system upgrades, energy efficiency retrofits, and marketing refreshes. Ewing argues that without direct funding, the family-run guesthouses that dot the Trossachs will simply fold.
She points to Australia's tourism resilience fund, which delivered similar micro-grants after the Black Summer bushfires and kept operators in places like the Blue Mountains trading through the rebuild. A Scottish equivalent administered by local authorities rather than Whitehall would reach operators more quickly. The scheme would prioritise businesses in tourism-dependent regions such as the Isle of Arran, the Cairngorms, and parts of the Borders, with light-touch reporting requirements.
A new seasonal worker pathway
Labour remains a chronic pinch, and Ewing's second pillar proposes a tailored seasonal worker visa for tourism and hospitality. The scheme would let operators recruit from a wider pool of countries for fixed seasonal contracts, addressing the staffing gaps that have left pubs in St Andrews short of bar staff and hotels in Fort William unable to open all rooms.
Ewing has drawn on Australia's Pacific Labour Scheme as a reference point. A Scottish equivalent, designed at Holyrood rather than left to Westminster, would give operators certainty while protecting worker rights. Her Annabelle Ewing's view on the future of the House of Lords explains why she believes reform of the upper chamber would strengthen the voice of tourism regions across the UK. The scheme would target arrivals during peak months from May to September, when visitor numbers peak across the Outer Hebrides and Royal Deeside. Critics question whether immigration sits within Holyrood's competence, but Ewing says it could operate as a pilot within existing powers.
Brexit damage and the road to recovery
The damage from Brexit to Scottish tourism has been measurable but uneven. International arrivals remain around fifteen per cent below pre-2020 levels, with European visitors hardest hit and long-haul markets including Australia, the United States, and Singapore showing stronger resilience, particularly for whisky tourism and cultural breaks.
Key tourism indicators for Scotland and Australia, illustrating the relative scale and structure of each sector.
| Indicator | Scotland | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| International visitors pre-2020 | 3.2 million | 8.6 million |
| Tourism share of GDP | 4–5% | 3–4% |
| Tourism SMEs | 60,000+ | 80,000+ |
| Currency pressure post-shock | Sterling decline | AUD volatility |
| Largest long-haul source | USA | China (falling), USA |
For Australians reading from the lucky country, the comparison underlines how dependent both economies are on visitor flows. Ewing argues that recovery strategies pursued by regional bodies from Lismore to the Kimberley hold valuable lessons for Holyrood.
Marketing Scotland to long-haul travellers
Ewing's third pillar focuses on international marketing, with emphasis on long-haul markets where per-trip spending tends to be higher. Australia ranks high on her list, alongside Japan, the United States, and Canada. She has proposed a partnership with VisitScotland to run joint campaigns with state tourism bodies in New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia.
The pitch would highlight Scotland's outdoor offering, from the Cuillin ridge to Outer Hebrides beaches, alongside whisky, food, and cultural festivals. Ewing believes Australian travellers are well placed to appreciate Scotland's mix of compact cities and wild terrain. A Scottish-Australian celebrity ambassador could resonate with the diaspora, one of Australia's largest migrant groups.
Whisky, seafood, and craft sectors
Beyond mainstream tourism, Ewing's plan includes specific provisions for whisky, seafood, and craft sectors, each hit by unique post-Brexit pressures. Tariffs, paperwork, and border delays have squeezed single malt exporters, while Scottish seafood businesses have struggled to land fresh catch in European markets within viable windows.
She points out that Australian wine and seafood exporters faced similar disruptions when negotiating access to Asian markets, with the eventual bilateral arrangements offering a template. Ewing proposes a dedicated trade envoy focused on food and drink exports, plus direct representation at trade fairs in Melbourne and Sydney. The craft sector would benefit from a separate export support programme, with Ewing arguing that small artisan businesses in the Borders deserve the same international promotion as flagship attractions.
Working around Westminster constraints
The biggest constraint on the plan is that trade and immigration levers sit with Westminster rather than Holyrood. Ewing is blunt about the limits of devolved competence but argues that Scotland can still act where powers allow while pressing for the broader constitutional change that would unlock the rest.
International allies offer another route. Ewing has pointed to cross-border networks of small-state and regional parties, including the online policy platform of European sister parties, as sources of policy ideas and solidarity that can help frame the case for a more flexible devolution settlement within the UK.
Scottish tourism recovery depends on immediate support and longer-term constitutional change. Ewing is asking visitors, operators, and diaspora communities across Australia to back a strategy that combines practical grants, smarter migration policy, and sustained international marketing. Her office is open to ideas from operators, trade bodies, and diaspora groups who want to contribute to the plan.