VisitScotland Funding of Dumfries and Galloway Tourist Board Foot-and-Mouth Recovery Plan

That the Parliament notes with extreme concern the failure of VisitScotland to allocate the necessary £280,000 to fund the second year of the foot-and-mouth recovery plan prepared by Dumfries and Galloway Tourist Board; believes that funds allocated nationally to VisitScotland by the Scottish Executive to help the tourist industry recover from the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak should be targeted on those areas most affected by the disease, and considers that the Scottish Executive should enter into urgent dialogue with VisitScotland to review their funding allocation to the board in the expectation that the necessary funding will be made available to support the Board's foot-and-mouth recovery plan which has already had considerable success in its first year.