Report to the People
National Tartan Day
What day is it?
Not an unreasonable question, but one which, in political circles, can be more difficult to answer than you might imagine. It seems that every single day is given over to some worthy cause or other.
Before becoming a politician, I had no idea of how many there were.
We have National Knitting Day; National Smile Day; National Save the Badger Day; National Kill the Badger Day... It makes you wonder whether, deep in the bowels of the Civil Service, there's a department which allocates certain days to certain causes.
Last Friday, however, there was a more significant celebration - American National Tartan Day. National Tartan Day is a celebration held on the anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath. It celebrates the contribution made by Scots and Scots-Americans, not only to the foundation, but the prosperity of America.
But it's about much more than whisky, shortbread and a few choruses of "By Yon Bonnie Banks." This is a serious economic and marketing opportunity. 470,000 visitors come to Scotland from America every year and spend around £240 million.
That is why the First Minister, Enterprise Minister and Tourism Minister all attended last week's events in the USA: to promote Scotland as a destination for investment and tourism.
The relationship between Scotland and the USA is founded in the history we share. And in Greenock, the port of embarkation for thousands bound for a new life on the other side of the Atlantic, we have stronger links than most. For all those hopeful emigrants, the Tail o' the Bank was their last memory of Scotland.
Of course it wasn't only Scots who left from here. Jews fled persecution in Russia, Swedes left for Illinois, Norwegians for Chicago and Germans and Poles for New York.
A dedicated genealogy centre has long been discussed as a tangible symbol of this link. Such a centre would allow overseas visitors to trace their family history right back to the ship on which their great great grandfather left and would encourage business in a valuable tourism niche.
Given the value of American tourism to the Scottish economy, and the fact that Scots-Americans are becoming more interested in their Scottish roots, it is my belief that it is an idea whose time has come.
And, with our history and links, where better to build it than Greenock?
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