Hillgoers case study

Hillgoers’ journey into the travel trade market started with wanting to provide more opportunities for their tour guides.

“Our biggest asset is our excellent team of loyal freelance guides. Working with the travel trade will provide more opportunities for them and help to grow the business.”

So when it came to working with the travel trade, Garry recommends taking full advantage of any workshops, webinars and training courses offered by tourism organisations.

Their first step was to understand how travel distribution worked and how they could find a travel trade partner.

“Reach out to the VisitScotland team and attend their workshops. We can’t thank the VisitScotland and Visit Aberdeenshire teams enough for the support, both one-to-one and peer-to-peer."

Garry reckons there was no big secret to their success, instead the time and effort they put into training and attending workshops and events helped. “It was most likely just getting our name out there!”

He also recommends taking time to build local relationships to develop your product: “Find a product that the buyers are looking for, and work with other suppliers on packages."

Hillgoers is also keen to work sustainably and work closely with local estate owners including Balmoral and Mar Lodge on conservation projects that are linked directly to climate change prevention and biodiversity improvements.

“We work closely with partners in the local area to build strong connections allowing us to offer exclusive insights and access to these beautiful locations.

"We hope to keep building relationships that sell Scotland as the best place in the world to visit."