VisitScotland’s planning chief Ian Yeoman has outlined his vision of Scotland’s tourism industry in 2015, including potentially using homeless Big Issue magazine sellers as “tourism ambassadors”.

The homeless concept is one of a number of ideas within a paper entitled Tomorrow’s Tourist and The Information Society, which has been released by VisitScotland in order to stimulate debate within the tourism industry.

According to Yeoman, Big Issue vendors could be used to promote Scottish tourist attractions and take credit card bookings, in return for a commission on sales.

They could also provide information about restaurants, hotels and theatre tickets.

Yeoman reportedly said: “Tourists want to meet locals, they want an authentic experience and Big Issue sellers are among the most polite and informative people on the street.

“They could easily sell theatre tickets, pass cards, information, or make diner reservations.”

Michael Luby of the Big Issue Scotland said the decision to use Big Issue sellers as ambassadors would be a very “good move” as they have a wealth of local knowledge and would be ideally placed to advise tourists.

Luby said: “I think we are near to the idea of Big Issue vendors becoming ambassadors for different Scottish cities. They already provide a similar service anyway and often have people asking them for directions and advice about where to visit.

“Our sellers are all very polite and informative and we often get reports from members of the public praising them.” Details: www.visitscotland.com or www.bigissuesscotland.com