- News
- New national campaign puts Scotland’s self‑catering sector in the spotlight
New national campaign puts Scotland’s self‑catering sector in the spotlight
A new national campaign aiming to deepen the connection between visitors and local communities across Scotland has been launched by the Association of Scotland’s Self‑Caterers (ASSC), placing the country’s self‑catering sector at the centre of a more locally grounded tourism offer.
The initiative, titled “Stay Local. Feel More.”, is being delivered through the ASSC’s consumer platform, EmbraceScotland, and will run until March 2027. It sets out to highlight the people, places and everyday experiences that shape a self‑catering holiday, while encouraging visitors to engage more directly with the destinations they choose to explore.
At the heart of the campaign is a simple idea: every Scottish holiday has a story behind it. Those stories, often rooted in local knowledge and personal hospitality, are seen as central to how visitors experience Scotland beyond its most recognisable attractions.
Rather than focusing primarily on destinations or itineraries, the campaign turns its attention to those who host and support visitors. Through a series of online features, including blogs, films and regional spotlights, EmbraceScotland will showcase the perspectives of self‑catering operators and the communities in which they are based. The intention is to present a more grounded and authentic picture of travel, shaped by lived experience rather than curated highlights.
👉 Read the campaign launch blog:
https://www.embracescotland.co.uk/article/stay-local-feel-more-2
A key element of the campaign is its emphasis on direct booking, which the ASSC argues is essential to ensuring that the economic benefits of tourism remain within local areas. By encouraging visitors to book directly with accommodation providers, rather than through third‑party platforms, the campaign aligns with wider efforts across the sector to strengthen local supply chains and improve financial resilience.
In this respect, “Stay Local. Feel More.” sits alongside the Great Scottish Holidays initiative, which focuses on demonstrating how visitor spending supports employment, services and small businesses throughout the country. Together, the two strands present both a human and economic narrative, linking individual visitor experiences with their wider impact.
👉 Explore the wider tourism impact:
https://greatscottishholidays.co.uk/
The campaign arrives at a time when visitor preferences continue to shift towards more meaningful and responsible forms of travel. Increasingly, travellers are seeking experiences that allow for closer interaction with local culture and community life, rather than more standardised forms of accommodation and travel.
Within that context, the self‑catering sector is positioned as offering both flexibility and a stronger sense of place. Properties often act as a base for exploring local businesses, food and drink producers, and outdoor environments, helping to distribute visitor spend more widely.
Industry partners have been encouraged to support the campaign by sharing its content and messaging, with a coordinated approach seen as key to amplifying its reach. Social media activity under #StayLocalFeelMore is expected to support this, alongside ongoing content shared through EmbraceScotland.
Further details on the campaign’s objectives and approach can be found in the official ASSC press release:
👉 https://www.assc.co.uk/press-release/new-embracescotland-campaign-encourages-visitors-to-stay-local-feel-more
Ongoing campaign content and stories will be published at:
👉 https://www.embracescotland.co.uk/
In bringing together storytelling, economic impact and place‑based experience, the campaign reflects a broader direction of travel for Scottish tourism. It suggests a model in which growth is more closely aligned with community benefit, and where visitors are encouraged not just to see Scotland, but to understand and engage with it on more local terms. focus, “Stay Local. Feel More.” positions self‑catering as more than just accommodation. Instead, it presents it as a gateway to a more connected, authentic and locally beneficial way to experience Scotland – one that supports communities while offering visitors a richer and more meaningful stay.