One of my passions in life is music. It’s the thrill of attending a gig, finding new artists and rediscovering bands I haven’t listened to for a while.
Del Amitri’s been on heavy rotation for me recently and it was a song of theirs that got me thinking about Scotland and how we market ourselves. ‘Always The Last Know’ is one of their most famous songs, but our approach to promoting Scotland should be the complete to that.
I’m in a lucky position where I get to talk about that almost every day of my working life. I enjoy nothing more than talking about what Scotland has to offer, and it’s why I love my job.
At Edinburgh Airport, we fly to 153 destinations in 40 countries thanks to our relationship with our 35 airline partners. And every route brings the world closer to Scotland.
To North America we have daily year-round flight to New York, summer seasonal routes to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Orlando and Washington D.C.. We also connect into Canada via Toronto, Calgary and Halifax. To East we have double daily flights to Doha, more services to Beijing than ever before, and up to 10 weekly flights to Istanbul. And of course, we connect into the major hubs across Europe, whether that’s London, Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid or Zurich.
They all increase our global influence and reach. We always promote Scotland as a brand and that comes from talking about things like our history and our culture, our innovation and expertise in technology, and our renowned universities and research credentials. It showcases our country.
I want airlines to be the first to know why they should fly here. I want them to understand Scotland is welcoming and that they should invest time and money here. Yes, there will be a return for them, but there’s also huge potential for us to capitalise on the links we have and the connections we forge. Our politicians must understand that, too.
What we as business leaders need is a framework that prioritises rather than ignores the economy. It is the economy that drives the things we need and want as a country. It is the common thread that runs through everything.
We need to shake off this reluctance to talk about the economy and instead embrace and understand the crucial role it plays. It is folly for us not to. We need our politicians to be confident in ourselves and in our offering, and we need to boast about Scotland and push ourselves to the front of the queue.
As Scotland’s airport, we stand ready to be that conduit. I make a promise that we will continue to fight for every route and airline that we can, and we will make sure they are the first to know we are open for business. All we ask is that you use the connectivity and services we offer and help us make the case for new ones.
Unless we take a Team Scotland approach then, in the words of Del Amitri, ‘Nothing Ever Happens.’
