The prospect of spending a significant length of time in prison would not, for most of us, be particularly alluring. Geoff Morrison though is celebrating a decade at Stirling's Old Town Jail — and the success of My Scottish Pass, which he founded to provide a digital ticket offering access to a range of experiences in Stirling and Edinburgh, with more locations in the pipeline.
In 2015 he spearheaded the revival of the historic Stirling location, which first opened in 1847 as the New County Jail, housing an assortment of petty criminals, with the aim of transforming the landmark into a leading tourist attraction.
Not averse to new challenges, last month Morrison led the reopening of the Stirling Tourist Information Centre after the closure of VisitScotland's office. The Stirling Gate House now operates as a visitor hub, ticketing centre and a space for showcasing local artisans.
"It made perfect sense for us to take over the Gate House as a ticket office for the jail, but also to do on-arrival information provision for visitors," says Morrison. "We've created a local map for Stirling, we've new itineraries and sell local products and produce. And while we were initially a bit anxious it has been extremely well received with 3,000 people visiting the information centre in the first six weeks since opening."
With a CV in marketing that includes destination manager for Destination Stirling and marketing manager at the Crieff Hydro hotel, he was also aware of the possibilities of encouraging visitors to go beyond the most famous sites — both in Stirling and beyond, which led to the birth of My Scottish Pass, a universal ticket designed to encourage visitors to stay for longer in the nation's historic and scenic sites.
Now a year-round business, he has 10 employees and provides what are described as "immersive" experiences such as tours at the Old Town Jail with interactive exhibits and live performances.
"Aware that international visitors were already familiar with the city pass concept in locations such as Amsterdam, Barcelona and Paris we created that for Scotland and tried to make it more personal in terms of adding local knowledge while also providing value for money," he says.
"It also helps them manage their time because when you're on holiday that's a precious commodity. It's a great way to help people focus on exactly what they want to do when they are here and as part of that we provide local tips and recommendations, adding a human touch which I think is a very important component of them enjoying their break in Scotland."
Essentially, Morrison's approach to tourism is about broadening the visitor experience, with the Stirling City Pass and Edinburgh City Pass reflecting his ambition to provide curated, high-quality experiences that encourage longer stays and deeper engagement with Scottish heritage, and plans are in progress to launch a Glasgow City Pass and Highlands Pass this year.
Initially using software created for another platform, he subsequently made the decision to invest in the business's own City Pass software with a focus on a more dynamic customer experience in terms of Apple Wallet integration and ease of use for both customers and tourism partners.
"The bespoke software has been created to further scale our City Pass offering," he explains. He adds that the web-based pass is easy to manage online and allows small guest houses and shops to become vendors.
"We do some online advertising for the Old Town Jail using social media but try to be as organic as possible and with the City Pass we have set up an affiliate platform as part of the new technology which means that anyone can recommend it and receive commission in return.
"And rather than sign up with third-party, online travel agents we're trying to be a bit more innovative in how we reach customers and are very focused on the customer experience."
In the capital, he adds, the company also works with the team at Forever Edinburgh, the official guide to the city.
"We have good reach but there's certainly more we want to do in getting the word out that we're a small, independent business which is punching above its weight and have built strong relationships with businesses in Edinburgh.
"The pass has been integrated with Historic Environment Scotland so when you visit an attraction such as Craigmillar Castle or Stirling Castle it's one of the very few to be linked into their own systems and has also been integrated with Bright Bus in Edinburgh so that you can use their hop-on, hop off buses with your QR code. You can also travel on Edinburgh trams so we have some high profile partnerships which have given the pass credibility."
Morrison is committed, he says, to sustainable tourism, ensuring visitors receive a warm welcome and benefit from local knowledge while keeping services community-driven.
"We're trying to create awareness of what wider destinations have to offer visitors. It's often easy to go to a city and visit do the number one attraction — but we want to shine a light on all the other great things that they can enjoy."