The good we do...already!
9th Dec 2025Tourism pals, we preserve heritage, celebrate stories and nurture people every day.
We're custodians of our identity, of the culture that makes us uniquely 'us'.
That means we have a power and position (and responsibility) to help fix Edinburgh's shame - because we're doing it, instinctively!
Poverty.
Poverty of connection and community.
Launched last month, the Edinburgh Poverty Commission Inquiry 2025 outlines that exclusion and isolation are as valid signs of poverty as lack of healthcare and homelessness.
Many were surprised to learn how tourism is a force for good in tackling that poverty of connection. I outlined this concept during the panel debate I shared with Council Leader Jane Meagher, NHS Lothian and Edinburgh Social Enterprise Network
And so to a Christmas Wish / New Years' Resolution forming...Vicki Jill Cat Carolyn ...
Just think how transformative it would be if tourism businesses REALISED the good they do ALREADY...and THEN the impact a conscious effort could have to collectively celebrate, amplify and communicate this power to Scots and visitors alike.
(P.S. tourism pals, the good you do is even greater if you pay the Real Living Wage. The big success noted by EPC is that in-work poverty rates have plummeted since 2020 in Edinburgh - thanks to RLW employers in tourism and beyond)
Read the Edinburgh Poverty Commission Report