the chairman of the Scottish Tourist Board has warned Scots that to alienate the English with the advent of a separate Parliament would amount to economic suicide, writes David Steele.
Lord Gordon of Strathblane said he was making no political point but was concerned about how English tourists may react to the changes in Scottish politics.
He was speaking at a conference in Prestwick Airport to launch Ayrshire and Arran tourism awareness week, which aims to raise the profile of the local tourist industry as well as forging links among those involved with visitors.
Lord Gordon said: ''I am concerned that the wrong message may go to English tourists.
''We must not lose sight of the fact two-thirds of our growing tourism business comes from England and to alienate anyone would amount to economic suicide. We must get the message across that with a Scottish Parliament we are not turning our back on England but merely getting rid of a piece of grit in the political machinery.''
He said it was a long process but more people were learning service did not mean servility and tourism was a good business to get into.
Scottish Office Minister Brian Wilson told the conference he would like ultimately to see a Minister with sole responsibility for tourism because it was too important to be part of a larger portfolio.
He described as ''forward thinking'' the establishment of Ayrshire and Arran Tourist Industry Forum bringing together all interested parties and said everyone had to work together pro-actively to tap the opportunities from an industry that already provided the area with more than #300m of revenue each year.
Mr Wilson rejected a claim from the floor that the Government was neglecting tourism in favour of manufacturing industry and said substantial sums of money were being spent through councils, local enterprise companies, and the tourist board network.
A call for the industry to work together to attract more direct flights into Scotland was one of the themes of the conference. Mr John Baillie, marketing manager for Prestwick Airport, said: ''With no meaningful air connections to and from Scotland, the problem will continue to be one of small numbers of highly motivated overseas tourists visiting.''
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