The FINANCIAL -- Edinburgh intends to drive up visitor numbers and spend per head through the development of the city's hotel and hosptiality offering.

According to Caterer and Hotelkeeper, at the seventh annual Edinburgh Tourism Action Group, Scotland's Minister for Tourism, Fergus Ewing, announced details of the Edinburgh Tourism Strategy which plans to increase the number of visits to the city by one third, increase the value of visitors' spend by 10% and reduce seasonality across the sector by 2020.

If the targets are met, annual visits to the city would increase from 3.27 million to 4.3 9million, spend would rise from £310.40 to £341.44 per visitor trip, and the current 40:60 split between winter and summer would reduce to 43:57.

The ambitious strategy has been drawn up following consultation with more than 150 tourism-related businesses, including the city's hotels.

Edinburgh's hotel business has developed significantly in the past 20 years with occupancy rising from 57% in 1990 to 77% in 2010 and tourism-related employment expanding from 12,000 in 1989 to 32,000 today. Investment in the sector currently includes the development of 1,400 new rooms by 2012 and the refurbishment of two of the city's five-star hotels - the Sheraton Grand and the Caledonian.

Meanwhile, Marion McKean, general manager of Whitbread's Premier Inns in Edinburgh, welcomes the development of the strategy and its highlighting of core priorities and measurable objectives.

In announcing the strategy, Ewing said the Scottish Government is committed to supporting the growth of the tourism industry.

To implement the strategy, an Edinburgh Tourism Strategy Implementation Group will be formed, made up of key organisations from public and private sectors.

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