How the pieces fall into place

JACK Munro views the tourism scene as something akin to a jigsaw. Each

piece is rather lost on its own but put them together and the big

picture becomes clear.

The chief executive of Greater Glasgow Tourist Board and Convention

Bureau, now just over two months in the top post, likes the look of the

picture which is emerging but stresses there is no room for complacency.

There can be little doubt that the years in which Mr Munro, 43, has

been involved in tourism and conventions the business has changed

greatly. No longer is a helpful person in a Portakabin dishing out

leaflets enough for the modern tourist, no more can an area rely on

attracting important business just by asking for it.

The chief executive's reference to an organisation which he controls

and which turned over #2.3m last year as ''the company'' is telling in

itself. Although Glasgow City Council provides the lion's share of the

funding -- over #1m in 1992 -- this is no longer a local authority

adjunct but a company working aggressively in a competitive and

lucrative market place. Greater Glasgow enjoyed a boost of around #200m

from tourism last year, conferences alone generate #20m annually of that

figure. Tourism is big business.

Mr Munro is in no doubt about the role he and his colleagues must play

in ensuring that the level of business continues to grow and that

Glasgow continues to get its fair share of the international market.

He said: ''The bulk of my work in recent years has been drawing

together the many strands of the tourism and conference business and

trying to make sure that it is packaged properly.

''For too long we had a situation where tourist authorities, hotels

and conference centres worked independently and, far from helping each

other, the whole effort was fragmented and the ultimate goal of

attracting tourists and generating business was missed.

''Now I hope with the efforts of the people here, at the Scottish

Tourist Board and at other Scottish tourist authorities we are starting

to get it together.''

Mr Munro has carved a career in tourism beginning with his native

Inverness, continuing with St Andrews and North-east Fife and spending

two spells in Glasgow punctuated with the role of attracting conference

business to Edinburgh.

He is diplomatic about the East/West divide. ''We are very fortunate

in this country to have two major cities which can offer visitors such a

wide variety of attractions. There is none of our direct competitors in

Europe which can offer that. Having worked in both Glasgow and Edinburgh

I can see the attractions of both. I am perfectly happy if people come

to Scotland and visit both, as long as the conference business comes to

Scotland.''

It is that conference business which has become so important to

Glasgow with the advent of the SECC, the Royal Concert Hall and

top-grade hotels. Over #100m of conference business, worked out at a set

rate per delegate, has been generated for the local economy in the past

five years.

Mr Munro said: ''We are now firmly established in the world market

place along with the North American and European destinations as a major

conference venue.

''We have had a good year this year and have major conference business

booked through to 1999. That is good news but already we are working

into the next century.''

He has just returned from the United States where he continued the

work on attracting conferences, in particular finalising details of

perhaps the most important event ever to be attracted to Glasgow -- the

1997 American Society of Travel Agents conference.

''The ASTA conference is crucial to our work as not only does it

generate money for Glasgow but we hope that the delegates, very much the

decision-makers in the world of travel in America, will go home with a

positive message about what the city in particular, and Scotland in

general, has to offer to the world travel market.''

The figures for visitors from the US and Canada demonstrate vividly

how important that market really is. Around 50% of total overseas

visitors to the area come from North America and more than a quarter of

all tourists are from there.

Mr Munro said: ''The introduction of direct flights to Glasgow from

the US and Canada in recent years has been another important piece in

the jigsaw. Airlines like American and British Airways are also

encouraging the open-jaws arrangement whereby a visitor can come to

Scotland and leave from London, thereby having the opportunity to take

in two major destinations.

''I realise that the American market can be a bit fickle but we are

anxious to stress to them that Glasgow is a safe place to visit and that

there is so much to see and do with the city as a base.

''At the same time we are spreading the message throughout Europe and

beyond in order that as wide a base of business as possible can be

created.''

Mr Munro is under no illusion about the changes that are to come in

tourism under a three-year plan unveiled recently by Secretary of State

for Scotland Ian Lang but views them with optimism.

''I welcome the Scottish Tourist Board's role as the marketing agent

for Scotland and think it is a good idea to cut the number of area

tourist boards. Ideally I would like to see the current 30 cut by half

as it would help to avoid any recurrence of the fragmentation of effort

which happened before.

''As far as funding coming from the Local Enterprise Companies, we

already have an excellent working relationship with the Glasgow

Development Agency and Renfrewshire Enterprise and I am certain that

would continue and grow,'' said Mr Munro.

He added: ''My one concern is the suggestion that private-sector

members should outnumber public-sector ones on the board structure. That

in no way reflects the breakdown of funding and I believe could lead to

difficulties in the relationship we have with the local authorities.''