Tourism has been very much in focus in Scotland in the last week, in a positive way.

Donald Trump’s presidential election victory naturally dominated the headlines, and has major implications on the business and economic front including the potential for higher tariffs for the likes of exports of single malt Scotch whisky to the US.

The dollar surged in the immediate wake of news on Wednesday morning of Mr Trump’s victory, as financial markets reacted in a positive way overall.

Part of the reaction was relief that there was a decisive election result, rather than a close call and all the associated uncertainty that might have gone with that in terms of contested counts and so forth.

And Ben Lofthouse, portfolio manager of Henderson International Income Trust, noted: “Mr Trump has campaigned on a mandate that includes further tax cuts for US companies, and less government regulation, which are generally taken positively by investors.”

During a somewhat tumultuous week in which Mr Trump dominated the headlines, and not for the first time, we had two attention-grabbing stories in the key Scottish tourism sector.

The first was a rallying call from Marc Gardner, general manager of Crerar Hotel Group’s Oban Bay Hotel, to boost winter tourism in seaside towns such as the one in which he operates, which see big declines in visitor numbers in the off-season.

My column on this topic, in The Herald on Wednesday, noted: “What makes his intervention even more interesting is that Oban has just been proclaimed Town of the Year in the Scotland Loves Local Awards 2024.

“And, on a personal level, having lived in Oban for a while in the early 1990s and visited many times since, his comments were all the more thought-provoking.”

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It went on to highlight obvious challenges in attracting tourism in winter, for Oban and other big visitor destinations in Scotland, while highlighting the fact that Edinburgh has fewer challenges on this front.

Mr Gardner observed: “Very often Scottish tourism is regarded to be seasonal-centric to the summer months, but it is vital that hoteliers such as ourselves play our part in ensuring tourism in some of Scotland’s most iconic locations can sustain all year round and visitors can continue to enjoy the very best experience available.”

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He added: “Unfortunately some accommodation providers close due to the fact that the demand is small in Oban at this time of year. However, we’re aiming to boost visitor numbers by creating exclusive experiences. It’s also important to work hand in hand with other local businesses so our guests can take full advantage of everything Oban has to offer.”

The importance of working with other local businesses in the sector must not be underestimated, generally and in the drive to boost winter tourism.

The challenges, including the weather and the decisions of some players in the sector to close in the off-season often for good financial reasons, are great.

However, the rewards of building further on what is already good progress in extending Scotland’s tourism season in many locations are well worth the effort involved in taking on these challenges.

My column observed: “For many, year-round opening might not be a realistic possibility, and it is important that businesses in a sector which has not had its troubles to seek, especially smaller ones, do not over-reach or over-extend themselves in the hope that revenue is forthcoming.

“That said, many smaller businesses will come up with great new ways of drumming up business through the winter and attracting visitors. As always in tourism, the quality of the offering will be crucial.”

The column observed that “it is encouraging to see Mr Gardner highlight the potential if winter tourism can be boosted meaningfully in the ‘iconic’ Scottish locations he mentions, and for some other places which are less high-profile but are also attractive to visitors”.

Also encouraging last week was the announcement by Center Parcs that it was planning to build its first-ever holiday village in Scotland.

This plan involves the creation of 1,200 permanent, year-round, non-seasonal jobs, and an investment of between £350 million and £400 million in a holiday village three miles north of Hawick.

In The Herald on Friday, my column on this good news observed: “It would be difficult to overstate the scale of the employment and economic boost to the Scottish Borders promised by Center Parcs.

“Even in a major Scottish city, the creation of employment on this scale at a single site would be noteworthy. And creation of 1,200 jobs in the Scottish Borders is a very big deal indeed, when you take into account the population.”

It added: “In recent decades, the Scottish Borders and its economy have not had their troubles to seek.

“It does not seem that long ago that the area was still reaping the benefits of large-scale textiles manufacturing, before a raft of closures and heavy job losses. As recently as the 1990s, there were a fair number of major textiles mills. Sadly, that is no longer the case, and people and towns in the Scottish Borders, and the area’s economy, have had to adapt.”

Hopefully, the holiday village planned by Center Parcs in the Scottish Borders will prove to be the kind of economic “game-changer” promised by the company’s chief executive, Colin McKinlay. It seems reasonable to hope it will.

And hopefully Mr Gardner and others in his sector will continue to work to boost winter tourism the length and breadth of Scotland.