Gillian is currently Head of Sales & Marketing with Historic Environment Scotland. In this role she has responsibility for promoting of portfolio of 77 staffed heritage attractions across the country, including iconic sites such as Edinburgh and Stirling Castles, to domestic and international markets and for the marketing of a range of commercial products and services. As part of this role Gillian also oversees the membership scheme and recently took on management of all quality services initiatives relating to the visitor business.
With a degree in languages, Gillian’s tourism career started on the front line in the Edinburgh Visitor Information Centre followed by a few years at the Edinburgh Convention Bureau, gaining an understanding of the business tourism market. Her career with HES (formerly Historic Scotland) spans over 20 years primarily in sales, marketing and business development roles in both B2C and B2B markets. She also had a spell at Stirling Castle as Executive Manager during the project to restore James V’s Palace. In this role she had oversight of the development of all the visitor and commercial operations at the Castle. A highlight of this position was winning the Scottish Thistle Award for Best Visitor Attraction