The Lanarkshire Area Tourism Partnership (formerly Lanarkshire Strategic Tourism Marketing Partnership) created the strategy for tourism and economic development in Lanarkshire under the brand VisitLanarkshire in 2005. This partnership is made up of representatives from North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire councils, VisitScotland, and private organisations across Lanarkshire, and is funded by the Lanarkshire Tourism Association. The development of tourism is in line with the objectives set out in the Lanarkshire Tourism Action Plan.
The partnership's VisitLanarkshire initiative was introduced to support growth in the tourism sector, which has been higher than most other sectors in the local area and makes a significant impact to Lanarkshire's economy, attracting over 3 million visitors a year and employing over 6,000 people.
One of the partnership's main tasks is to manage local information through its dedicated website www.visitlanarkshire.com, launched in 2009 which is a database to help locals and tourists find information on towns, attractions, accommodation, news and events in Lanarkshire. This tool is useful as it helps 2,000 users a week to find information, and benefits in particular a local audience. Social media is another tool used to promote local events in the area to the public and to push seasonal marketing campaigns which provide visitor boosts in Spring and Autumn.
The partnership works in close contact with accommodation providers and attractions in the area to maintain standards set out by VisitScotland's quality grading schemes. Through the VisitLanarkshire name, the partnership also communicates the strategic aims set out by the Scottish Tourism Alliance to ensure its partners are working in parallel with the rest of Scotland.
The partnership dedicated resources into producing a website promoting venues in Lanarkshire which was launched in 2012, after recognising that business tourism is a key growth sector in the tourism industry.