The ASVA conference in Crieff, Perthshire, has been aimed at giving delegates a set of tools to combat these problems by concentrating on issues like branding, meeting visitors' expectations and making the most of Scotland's natural assets.
"I hope that we resolve this issue sooner rather than later because the state of Illinois has some tremendous financial problems to deal with, which in my view is where we should be concentrating our focus and our time, " he said.