What VisitScotland can do for you - VisitScotland.org

What VisitScotland can do for you How we can support and promote your business

Contents 00 WHAT CAN VISITSCOTLAND DO FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

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01 PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS Get your free listing on our global website Reach for the stars Taste Our Best Use our Welcome Schemes to appeal to visitors with specific interests Be in the iKnow Advertise in prime locations and publications Engage with our latest campaigns Take part in our promotional activities Promote your business at an event, exhibition or trade show Target the business events market Align with Themed Years

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02 GET ADVICE AND SUPPORT Analyse your digital presence in a digital review Check out our practical advice guides and toolkits Attend an industry event in your area

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03 KNOW YOUR MARKET Utilise the wealth of research and insights at your fingertips

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04 CONSIDER FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Promote your local area or sector Support an event you are organising

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05 CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESSES Go for a Scottish Thistle Award

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What can VisitScotland do for your business?

VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. We work closely with businesses, public agencies and stakeholders to maximise the benefits of tourism to Scotland’s economy and that includes helping to support and promote your business. We provide products and services that can help you reach your target markets more efficiently and we can provide vital resources to assist you in developing your business.

This booklet gives you an overview of the main opportunities available so you can consider the best options for your business. More information is available on all of these opportunities on the business support pages of our corporate website visitscotland.org or by speaking directly to your Industry Relationship Manager.

By working together, we can continue to attract visitors to Scotland and deliver exceptional holiday experiences to visitors, ensuring they feel the true Spirit of Scotland. 04

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01 PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS

Get your free listing on our global website

Scotland’s national tourism website, visitscotland.com, welcomes over 20 million visitors each year. Relaunched in 2016, the site is optimised for mobile devices and all content pages are translated into five major European languages. It provides a truly global platform to promote Scotland and your business to the world.

We offer FREE listings on the website, with a number of promotional features to enable you to showcase your business, increase awareness and drive referrals directly to you.

All our marketing activity — from press to TV adverts — drives potential visitors to visitscotland.com to ensure that businesses across Scotland receive as many referrals as possible from their listing on the site.

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Promote your business 07


Features of a business web listing include:

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Referrals from visitors directly to you via your contact details, email address and website link

Promotion of Quality Assurance awards to provide visitors with reassurance on the standard of experience they can expect

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Images and video content to inspire potential visitors and encourage them to find out more about your business •

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Descriptive content to highlight your unique selling points and attract interest from visitors. This can be optimised for search by using key words and phrases

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Practical information such as your facilities, prices and opening hours

The option for accommodation businesses to link to an integrated booking engine and/or take bookings from our iCentre network across Scotland

Our partnership with TrustYou which gives accommodation businesses the opportunity to display a score and summary of online feedback, reflecting genuine reviews from their guests

Access to an online system, giving you the flexibility to make changes to your listing at any point throughout the year

Business listings on visitscotland.com generated 1.4 million visitor referrals to Scottish businesses.

Get your free listing at visitscotland.org/free-web-listing

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Reach for the stars

VisitScotland operates a star-graded Quality Assurance (QA) scheme for a wide variety of tourism businesses.

Participation in the QA scheme starts from as little as £107 + VAT depending on the sector and size of your business.

On joining the QA scheme you will receive a visit from one of our highly experienced Quality & Tourism Advisors who will give an objective, impartial assessment of what it is like as a customer to stay with you or to visit your attraction.

For more information on the QA schemes and how we can work with you go to visitscotland.org/quality-assurance

Invaluable feedback and a detailed report will highlight what works well and what could be improved to help you attain the level of quality you desire. It can help you better understand your strengths and weaknesses and make informed decisions about investing in and developing your business to ensure it is as economically sustainable, and profitable, as it can be. QA stars shown alongside online reviews give your guests a balance of objective and subjective views to assist guests in their decision making.

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Taste Our Best

The Taste Our Best Quality Assurance scheme showcases businesses that offer quality Scottish food and is available to food and drink businesses such as cafes, takeaways and restaurants from £50. If you participate in one of our other QA schemes and also have an eligible food offering, Taste Our Best is automatically included free-of-charge in your QA assessment. To get the most out of your Taste Our Best award, we offer a toolkit with resources and advice to help market your business and this badge of quality to the world. Three quarters of Taste Our Best participants use the award to promote their business, with 72% receiving positive feedback from their customers regarding local sourcing of produce. We have been promoting Taste Our Best to millions, with PR coverage alone reaching 3.5 million potential visitors. Find out more at visitscotland.org/taste-our-best

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Use our Welcome Schemes to appeal to visitors with specific interests

Be in the iKnow

We have developed a range of Welcome Schemes to recognise businesses that cater for specific niche markets.

Find out more at visitscotland.org/ welcome-schemes or through your Industry Relationship Manager.

They help guide visitors with specific interests to businesses that pay particular attention to their needs.

If you participate in Quality Assurance (QA) our range of Welcome Schemes complement your award and are available to you free of charge.

For example, a cyclist may look for a business with the ‘Cyclist Welcome Scheme’ as they offer a lockable space for bike storage. We also have an Experiencing Gaelic Welcome Scheme which recognises the efforts businesses make to promote the Gaelic language and culture.

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The schemes are also available to businesses that don’t participate in QA for a small fee.

The VisitScotland Information Partner (VIP) programme recognises the wonderful service and information that many businesses provide their visitors. It is open to Quality Assured businesses across the tourism industry as well as community groups, social enterprises and transport providers free of charge.

An online community platform has also been introduced on visitscotland.com that provides visitors with an additional way of getting the inside track from people in the know, like you. Get started and share your stories, travel advice and top tips at community.visitscotland.com Find out more at visitscotland.org/iknow

The VIP programme is ultimately about reaching more people with more tailored information so they stay longer, spend more and grow the visitor economy and create jobs. By being part of the programme you will benefit from official iKnow Scotland branding and collateral as well as promotional material and information resources. These include: •

New point of sale material

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Internal window sticker

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Staff badges

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Certificate

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Access to toolkit templates

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iKnow logo added to your visitscotland.com web listing 13



Advertise in prime locations and publications

Engage with our latest campaigns

VISITSCOTLAND iCENTRES We offer a variety of advertising opportunities in our iCentre network across Scotland to suit a range of business needs and budget. These opportunities, from leaflet racking to poster displays, enable you to promote your products and services to a receptive audience looking for inspiration on where to go and what to see and do. Details and pricing options for advertising in one of our iCentres are available on visitscotland.org/icentre-advertising

CONSUMER PUBLICATIONS You can purchase advertising for your business in a number of regional and national publications, produced on our behalf by contracted third party agencies. Guides are distributed to thousands of potential and return visitors to Scotland. A variety of advertising and entry options are available in the different guides, from full page adverts to small listings. More information is available at visitscotland.org/consumer-publications Visit products.visitscotland.org for more promotional opportunities. Don’t forget, your locally based Industry Relationship Manager can also advise on relevant advertising opportunities for your business.

The ‘Spirit of Scotland’ campaign, launched in early 2016, saw a new era for VisitScotland marketing and captured the imagination of both visitors and tourism businesses. During its first few months, our online campaign films received more than 20 million views and #ScotSpirit was used over 150,000 times on Twitter. Capitalise on this by using #ScotSpirit across your social media.

DISCOVER THE

SPIRIT OF DISCOVER THE SCOTLAND. SPIRIT OF SCOTLAND.

Share your experience using #ScotSpirit Share your experience using #ScotSpirit

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The campaign helped deliver 567,000 referrals to businesses from visitscotland.com, an increase of 20% year-on-year, representing £200 million of potential visitor income in just five months. Working with businesses in Scotland within our campaigns is a priority for us. Our Spirit of Scotland industry eBook gives you information on what we are doing and how we can work together. It includes: •

Hints and tips on how to engage with our campaign online

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Our marketing strategy

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When and where our activity is happening

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Tips to help with your own business marketing activity

The industry eBook is a toolkit to harness all our efforts and boost business to Scotland in a new era of collaboration. Find out more at visitscotland.org/ spirit-of-scotland

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Take part in our promotional activities

Eighteen months of work by the VisitScotland team produced a makeover of Germany’s biggest travel magazine, Merian. The 2016 summer edition featured 138 fantastic pages bringing Scotland to life and directly into the homes of thousands of prospective German visitors.

We work year-round to target people with an interest in Scotland through prize draws and we encourage international trade and journalists to promote Scotland by arranging press trips. You can register interest in providing these complimentary stays, visits and activities alongside many other businesses. This gives you the opportunity to show off your business to key travel trade personnel and journalists. It may also result in additional exposure if the activity goes on to feature in our consumer campaigns or high-profile external publications. By completing our online form on visitscotland.org/consumerpromotions you will be inviting VisitScotland to consider working with you when these opportunities arise. Alternatively, speak to your Industry Relationship Manager. Businesses which have participated in these offers benefited from mentions in publications like the New York Post and The Guardian.

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Promote your business at an event, exhibition or trade show

Joining VisitScotland at an event, exhibition or business development mission is a cost-effective way of reaching the people that you are targeting – visitors, specific markets or some of our major travel trade contacts.

TRAVEL TRADE Travel trade intermediaries are tour operators and travel agents (the middle-men) who package and sell holidays to consumers. We provide them with the information and tools they need to create packages and encourage visitors to choose Scotland as a destination to visit. We work to identify the main travel trade intermediaries in our key markets and look at which opportunities are most effective for you to meet with, and inspire, these audiences. We also manage and support Scotland’s presence at a number of UK and international trade shows and workshops. These include events such as World Travel Market, the International

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Golf Travel Market and workshops arranged by organisations like UK Inbound. If the travel trade is a key market focus for your business then you might want to consider taking a free listing on our dedicated Travel Trade website visitscotlandtraveltrade.com We often work closely with partners such as VisitBritain at these events but there are also opportunities for individual businesses to get involved. It is crucial that Scotland showcases a range of products at these events, so we need to work with businesses to help build the Scotland proposition, which gives you the chance to promote your own products and services to an international market at an affordable cost.

VISITSCOTLAND EXPO VisitScotland expo is Scotland’s annual business-to-business travel trade event. It offers the perfect opportunity for Scottish-based businesses to showcase their products and services to potential buyers from the UK and around the globe. The event gives businesses the opportunity to meet and network with buyers in both formal and informal surroundings. There is a dedicated expo website which provides up-to-date information on Scotland’s flagship travel trade show at visitscotlandexpo.com

© Chris Watt

A full list of events and opportunities is available on visitscotland.org/events-exhibitions © Chris Watt

© Chris Watt

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Target the business events market

The VisitScotland Business Events team encourages business meetings, incentive groups, conferences and exhibitions to come to Scotland from the rest of the UK and key international markets.

connecting Scottish buyers with conference and meeting planners •

A dedicated website for business events: conventionscotland.com

We work in partnership with the city convention bureaux of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen, as well as venues, hotels, and academic centres of excellence to attract events related to Scotland’s key industry sectors.

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Impartial advice to buyers on venues and services throughout Scotland

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A national ambassador programme to grow business to Scotland from Associations

Business events are important to Scotland as they currently represent 20% of all tourism expenditure in Scotland and delegates typically spend more than leisure visitors. The meetings industry is also less seasonal, bringing business out with peak periods – and events can be booked years in advance, guaranteeing business on the books. We promote the country as a flexible and exciting destination for these events through platforms including:

If you want to target the business events and incentive travel markets then you can ask for a free listing on conventionscotland.com — or speak to the Business Events team about other opportunities that may be available to you.

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Align with Themed Years

International trade shows, regional showcases, workshops, sales missions and familiarisation trips,

Businesses working closely with Business Events include conference centres, hotels, unique venues and suppliers to the conference market including transport, entertainment, audio visual (AV) and caterers.

Themed Years bring together Scotland’s public and private sectors across tourism and celebrate the best of Scotland and its people. By connecting with the theme you can ride on the back of our high-profile marketing and ensure your business benefits from some of the coverage it generates. Additionally, we provide you with useful free marketing tools in our Themed Year toolkits to help you do just that. Toolkits include relevant marketing resources to help tourism businesses, event organisers and tourism professionals promote themselves to visitors who have an interest in the Themed Years. This includes logos, messaging, imagery and promotional tips.

Themed Years for the years 2017 - 2018 2017

Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology

2018

Year of Young People

Businesses may also be able to apply for funding support for events in each of Scotland’s Themed Years via eventscotland.org

Find out more at visitscotland.org/toolkits

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02 GET ADVICE AND SUPPORT

Analyse your digital presence in a digital review

The digital world is constantly evolving, with more and more visitors accessing information online than ever before. Our marketing strategy has digital at its core and businesses need to adopt this approach as well — we can help you do this. We recognise that it can be a challenge to keep up with all the digital developments so we offer Quality Assured businesses support to maximise their online presence through a free digital review.

• Review the management of your business’s online reputation • Ensure that your business can be found easily online and offer advice on how to attract new customers • Assess and advise on how to improve your social media activity

HOW DO I SIGN UP? To qualify for a digital review, your business must: • Be Quality Assured

WHAT’S INVOLVED? The review can be done remotely and will:

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Get advice and support

• Check that your website is delivering its objectives and is optimised for the changing needs of visitors online • Look at whether you are making the most of your free web listing on visitscotland.com and your Quality Assurance promotional materials

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Have analytics in place and be willing to share this with us for an in-depth review

• Be committed to implement the recommendations agreed To take up this offer please get in touch with your local Industry Relationship Manager.

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Check out our practical advice guides and toolkits

We offer advice and support to help your business be the best it can be. We can help you reach your target market more efficiently and provide vital resources to help you grow your business and maximise profits. Our dedicated toolkits can help your business capitalise on key opportunities and campaigns, for instance, the Themed Years and VisitScotland campaigns like the ‘Spirit of Scotland’.

hints and tips to help you capitalise on the business opportunities presented by these themes or campaigns. We also offer your business a range of practical online AdviceLink guides covering different topics, from how to work with the media to accessible tourism and sustainability. Go to visitscotland.org/advicelink

Toolkits include resources such as logos, image banks, promotional wording and

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Attend an industry event in your area

Check out the Sharing the Spirit of Scotland eBook for useful links and tips to help you engage with our global campaign and enhance your own business marketing activity at visitscotland.org/spirit-of-scotland

Check out our ‘Easy does it’ and ‘Better Business’ AdviceLink guides, as well as an accessible online training tool and event organiser’s guide at visitscotland.org/accessible-tourism and visitscotland.org/sustainable-tourism

Being sustainable will help reduce your costs and can increase your profit margin while providing great service and having a positive impact on the environment and community.

Event organisers can also access industry best practice information and business support on topics such as health and safety, event management and measuring success at eventscotland.org

The UK Accessible Tourism market is valued at £1.3 billion. By making a few simple changes to your business you can benefit from better return on investment, higher occupancy rates and a loyal and returning customer base.

Join the conversation on Twitter @VisitScotNews and LinkedIn linkedin.com/company/visitscotland and keep up to date on all things tourism related by signing up to our eUpdate newsletter visitscotland.org/eUpdate

We manage a programme of industry events for tourism businesses across Scotland, many of which are delivered in partnership with destination organisations and industry groups. At these events, we cover topics that can help you: • Grow your business

If you are hosting an event or training workshop that targets a business audience, you can add it to this calendar for free. Should you require Gaelic translation at our events, please let us know upon registration. If we have adequate demand of 20% or more then we will ensure a Gaelic translator is there on the day.

• Improve your online presence • Find out how VisitScotland is benefiting your local economy • Get inspiration and ideas on new ways of working • Network and connect with like-minded businesses Stay up to date with events in your area or national events relevant to your business by keeping an eye on our industry events calendar on visitscotland.org/industry-events

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03 KNOW YOUR MARKET

Utilise the wealth of research and insights at your fingertips

In today’s rapidly changing world, having an informed outlook is vital. Businesses in the tourism and hospitality sectors are increasingly sensitive to consumer trends and economic conditions so it’s important that you know what’s on the horizon. VisitScotland’s Insight team combines consumer perspectives with industry knowledge to allow Scottish tourism to meet the challenges of today’s marketplace. Businesses can benefit from this research as it informs you of: •

Developing trends in the tourism sector

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Current industry performance

• Visitors’ attitudes and experience of Scotland

If you are thinking of targeting a new market or possibly thinking of branching into a new part of the tourism sector then this is a great place to start your research. For more information on the latest tourism research and insights go to visitscotland.org/ research-and-statistics The Moffat Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University conducts the Scottish Accommodation Occupancy Survey on behalf of VisitScotland. The Survey is one of the most up-to-date and detailed sources of information for monitoring the performance of the tourism industry in Scotland. See how you can take part at visitscotland.org/SAOS

• Characteristics of domestic and international visitors

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04 CONSIDER FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Promote your local area or sector

The VisitScotland Growth Fund supports collaborative tourism marketing projects that focus on growth in the tourism sector and ensure that visitors experience the true Spirit of Scotland.

innovation and inclusive growth. Through direct grants the Growth Fund helps businesses to build their digital capability, market and measure outputs and success more effectively.

The fund supports groups to leverage additional marketing investment and stimulates collaboration across the industry and with VisitScotland. The Growth Fund encourages alignment to the national industry tourism 2020 strategy.

Working in partnership means that we no longer market Scotland for Scotland; we market Scotland with Scotland. For more information, case studies and to apply, visit visitscotland.org/growth-fund

The fund also presents applicants with the opportunity to support the four pillars set out in Scotland’s Economic Strategy: internationalisation, investment,

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Consider funding opportunities 30

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04 CONSIDER FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Support an event you are organising

EventScotland — a team within VisitScotland’s Events Directorate — delivers a number of funding programmes to support and develop events across Scotland. Eligible events range in scale and audience depending on the programme but all events must support our overall mission to grow Scotland’s visitor economy and our national events strategy Scotland the Perfect Stage. EVENT PROGRAMMES INCLUDE: • International Events Programme — supports events that generate substantial economic benefit and high-profile international media coverage

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National Events Programme — supports events outwith Glasgow and Edinburgh and promotes domestic tourism

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Beacon Events Programme — it is expected that applicants for funding through this programme will have previously received

support through the National Events Programme and that, as such, events take place outwith Glasgow and Edinburgh •

Scotland’s Winter Festivals — supports events which celebrate Scotland’s three national days; St Andrew’s Day, Hogmanay and Burns Night

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Scottish Clan Fund — legally-constituted Clans and Clan Societies can apply for support for individual events, additional elements or new activity designed to grow Clan events outwith Glasgow and Edinburgh

If you are an event organiser and would like further information on the specific programmes please visit eventscotland.org/funding

Tiree Wave Classic © Richard Whitson

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05 CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESSES

Go for a Scottish Thistle Award

The Scottish Thistle Awards celebrate tourism businesses or suppliers across the country who have gone the extra mile to offer an outstanding visitor experience. The Thistles are the only national awards scheme to recognise all elements of tourism and are designed to discover and celebrate excellence and innovation by the Scottish tourism industry for our visitors.

position Scotland as the perfect place to visit and to do business. The Thistles encourage professionalism and promote the quality service and products that reflect all that is great about the Scottish tourism industry. Find out more at scottishthistleawards.co.uk

They are free to enter and regarded as the Scottish tourism ‘Oscars’ with 15 categories across five regional programmes. Winners from each regional final progress to the glittering finale at the National Final during Scottish Tourism Week. Tourism is the heartbeat of the Scottish economy and all those nominated are industry-leading ambassadors who help

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Celebrate your successes © Chris Watt

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Sign up to our monthly industry newsletter – the eUpdate - at visitscotland.org/eUpdate

Follow our corporate Twitter feed @VisitScotNews

All photographs ©VisitScotland unless otherwise stated.

Connect with us on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/visitscotland

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VisitScotland has taken all reasonable steps to confirm the information contained in this publication is correct. However, VisitScotland does not warrant or assume any legal liability for the accuracy of any information disclosed and accepts no responsibility for any errors or omissions.