Pat Buchanan

Director of Community Archaeology

Pat Buchanan has over 20 years tourism and economic development experience across public and private sectors. She has worked on strategy development at national, regional and local area levels developing and facilitating multi-agency and public/private sector approaches to translate strategy into progress on the ground.  

Her particular strength lies in heritage and tourism related development and she has a particular interest in sustainable rural tourism and tourism and the environment. She has worked with national agencies, local communities and business to develop tourism based on cultural and natural heritage. She has a strong foundation in the key areas of business management, quality standards and skills development and a realistic and practical understanding of the development needs of tourism related SMEs. 

Pat is a former Board Member of VisitScotland, EventScotland and the Scottish Museums Council.  She has served as a member of the Ministerial Taskforce for Economic Fora and the Convention of the Highlands and Islands. She was Chairman of Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise for eight years and between 2008 and 2011 and served as a Member of the Scottish Government’s Rural Development Council, an advisory body to the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment. 

As an independent voluntary consultant she has worked with Turizem Bohinj, Slovenia for over a decade advising on sustainable tourism and was key to establishing the first International Wildflower Flower Festival there in May 2007. Between 2012 and 2014 she provided advice and support toTourizem Bohinj as they developed and delivered an EU Cultural Fund project expanding the reach of the Wildflower Festival as a vehicle for sustainable development to Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria. 

Pat has managed the design and delivery of AOC’s Community portfolio since 2008.