Daniel Steel

CEO Ayrshire & Arran Destination Alliance

Appointed as the first CEO of Ayrshire & Arran Destination Alliance (AADA) Daniel is

responsible for the day-to-day operations and leadership of the organisation, supporting the

board of voluntary industry directors to develop and refine and strategic plans.

Prior to returning to Ayrshire as CEO of route development initiative The Coig in 2019,

Daniel spent 6 years as CEO of the national marine tourism organisation, Sail Scotland. He

rejuvenated the organisation to become one of Scotland’s most effective sectoral tourism

groups, winning international awards and delivering a seven-figure benefit to the national

economy. He received a Scottish Thistle Award in 2016 for this work and his role as an

ambassador for tourism. Over this time he also played a key role in developing and

implementing Scotland’s National Marine Tourism Strategy which brought public and

private sector together to capitalise on Scotland’s marine assets for the first time.

Daniel is a graduate of Glasgow Caledonian University, where he was awarded coveted

Moffat Scholarships on three occasions and completed a BA (Hons) degree in Tourism

Management and an MSc with distinction in International Events Management.

Daniel has a breadth of experience in the public, private and charitable sectors. Previously

he worked for the national tourism marketing organisation, VisitScotland, and established

his own corporate events business. In 2007 he joined East Ayrshire Council to develop and

manage the area’s first Tourism Strategy. He led on all areas of tourism development and

promotion, steadily growing the value of the sector to its highest ever level million despite

the recession and global economic crises. Daniel was instrumental in developing a

partnership approach to tourism across the three Local Authorities - the first of its kind in

Scotland.

Daniel has led and developed a range of national and regional tourism strategies and held a

variety of executive and board positions in Scottish tourism including, Vice-Chair of the

Scottish Local Authorities Economic Development (SLAED) Tourism Group, Director of Golf

Tourism Scotland, founder member of member of Scotland’s Marine Tourism Development

Group, Scottish Tourism Alliance Council member and Committee Member of Tourism

Society Scotland.

A lover of all things Ayrshire, he has lived in the region for the past 14 years with his wife

and two children and currently lives on the Isle of Arran, where he enjoys spending as much

time outdoors and enjoying local food and drink as he can!