Digital Tourism in the Outer Hebrides: Strengthening Hospitality Through Digital Engagement
Published: 20 August 2025
Dr Jaylan Azer’s award-winning collaboration with the Outer Hebrides Tourism Community is helping local food and tourism businesses thrive online through place branding, digital platforms, and storytelling, showing how research can drive rural innovation and digital inclusion.
Since 2020, Dr Jaylan Azer has been working closely with the Outer Hebrides Tourism Community (OHTC) on a series of research-informed projects that champion local food, drink, and tourism businesses. This long-standing partnership is helping to reshape how small producers and hospitality providers in remote areas connect with visitors and residents in a digital-first world.
The early digital initiative, Food with a View (2020/21), introduced a unified brand and social media campaign celebrating the region’s unique culinary experiences and landscapes. Since the campaign, users and viewers of the Visit Outer Hebrides website massively increased and social media reach doubled across platforms. Food with a View drove long-term growth by boosting trail engagement and expanding membership. Its rising popularity helped the trail become self-sustaining, with member fees reinvested into local initiatives. The campaign also gained industry recognition as a 2022 Regional Excellence Award finalist.
Building on this success, the next digital initiative was the Taste of the Outer Hebrides (2022/2023), a 17‑page e‑book contains vivid visuals, personal narratives, and traditional recipes to immerse readers in the lived experience of the Outer Hebrides. It takes the spotlight to the digitally underrepresented people behind the plate to enhance their visibility and inclusion. These are the chefs, crofters, and producers whose skills, stories, and dedication bring the islands’ food and drink to life. It earned widespread acclaim, winning the Scotland Food and Drink Excellence Award in 2023. Beyond accolades, the eBook expanded the partnership ecosystem by attracting new collaborators, including Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Edinburgh Food Festival, Taste Harris, and the World Food Travel Association. The e-book quickly attracted strong and steadily rising engagement, signalling lasting interest and wide digital reach. It gained recognition for showcasing the region’s culinary heritage and was highlighted in media coverage as a key element in a major award submission. The initiative successfully increased the visibility of crofters and their diversification, which was noted in national and international awards. It also helped drive a significant rise in traffic to the OHTC’s main website following its launch.
In 2024, the collaboration reached a new milestone with the launch of Bùth Hebrides, the region’s first online marketplace, designed to connect island-based producers with customers across the UK and beyond. The platform offers a vital route to market for small businesses, while preserving and promoting the Outer Hebrides’ rich culinary heritage. The platform has delivered clear benefits for participating businesses, with engagement rising steadily since launch. Its success has led to the development of a trade-focused extension, supported by industry partners and set for release in 2025. This demonstrates strong funder confidence and has secured further investment to promote local producers. Together, the original platform and its trade version illustrate how a coordinated digital ecosystem can strengthen collaboration and overcome rural challenges.
Together, these initiatives have received the Excellence in Culinary Preservation & Promotion Award at the Global Culinary Travel Awards in recognition of their impact.
Research, Community and Creative Collaboration
Dr Azer’s work demonstrates the practical value of research in supporting digital inclusion, economic resilience, and sustainable rural development. Funded through the ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA and ABC grants), the University of Glasgow Chancellor’s Fund, and Scotland Food and Drink, the projects were delivered as part of the Adopt a Business scheme, a post-COVID recovery program led by Interface, VisitScotland, and the Scottish Tourism Alliance.
At the heart of this work is a commitment to partnership, bringing together academic insight, community organisations and the creative industries to tackle real-world challenges. By focusing on accessible, research-driven tools for digital engagement, the project supports the long-term growth of small businesses and helps to position the Outer Hebrides as a vibrant, connected destination.
For further information, please contact business-school-research@glasgow.ac.uk
First published: 20 August 2025