Chloe Forbes is the inspiration and driving force behind Country Sport Scotland (CSS) - a platform for marketing country sport tourism, a sector of immense importance to the countryside. Under Chloe's leadership, CSS has developed into a professional and respected directory of the best country sport tourism Scotland has to offer. Chloe's innovative use of digital marketing techniques has breathed new life into an industry that is under considerable pressure from the Government, and her leadership in transforming the offer to members is highly commendable. She deserves to be recognised as a rising rural star.
Initiative & Drive - Chloe has tackled the stereotypes surrounding rural sport head on, particularly through her exceptional use of digital marketing to engage a younger, more digitally savvy audience. She has built CSS's output around high quality imagery and features that engage audiences, more than quadrupling the organisation's reach since she took over. She has made full use of Covid-19 funding to drive the sector forward, successfully securing funding from the Destination and Sector Marketing Fund. She has also sought to recognise those in the sector who are helping rural Scotland to thrive through the creation of the Scottish Country Sport Tourism Awards, which will be launched for the first time at the Scottish Game Fair.
Chloe's leadership at CSS has delivered demonstrable value to rural sports tourism providers. Her transformation agenda, which has seen the introduction of three subscription offers based on higher quality marketing spend, has resulted in a significant increase in bookings for suppliers, which in turn has helped to strengthen the sector as a whole, which is estimated to be worth around £200 million to the Scottish economy. Chloe has also worked with a number of sports influencers to highlight Scotland as a premium destination for rural sport and has strengthened the organisation's relationship with VisitScotland through regular engagement and collaboration. The quality of the Shoot in Scotland magazine has also been revolutionised under Chloe's editorial stewardship, and she has proactively and effectively sought to enhance the standing and reputation of CSS with several key stakeholder organisations - as evidenced by the addition of a new organisation to the CSS Board. Repeat subscriptions from both estates and sports agencies, covering a wide range of country sports interests from fishing to stalking to shooting, clearly demonstrate that Chloe Forbes has provided a quality service that is both relied upon and valued by an important tourism sector.
Chloe has taken CSS to a place many never thought possible. The professionalisation of the marketing output has put the platform on a par with leading directories with significantly more human resources, such as Guns On Pegs. Chloe's leadership of an ambitious transformation agenda, which has seen the introduction of 3 subscription tiers, has been embraced by suppliers eager to benefit from Chloe's expertise. Unsurprisingly, her success in increasing the organisation's revenue has had a knock-on effect. Chloe's passion for CSS has resulted in the complete transformation of a somewhat tired brand into something that is both exciting and intriguing. She has dedicated herself to providing a premium service to members, based on quality, and this has done wonders for selling Scotland as the premium destination for country sports in general. Always looking to improve, Chloe has begun to explore the possibility of tapping into the American and European country sports markets and has recently taken it upon herself to complete a fact-finding trip to Dortmund in Germany. She is a dedicated and passionate ambassador for country sports who has single-handedly revolutionised a key platform for rural Scotland to thrive.