Press release -
Garden tourism set to grow
Scotland’s £200 million garden tourism industry is set for a major boost with the launch of a new national network of gardens, nurseries and related businesses working together to showcase the country’s outstanding horticulture to the world.
Through its Growth Fund, VisitScotland has awarded £30,000 to help to establish the network, which aims to highlight gardening attractions throughout the country.
“Scotland’s gardens are a huge asset,” said the network’s Chair, Catherine Erskine. “There are a number of organisations that will, for the first time, come together to maximise on the potential to grow garden tourism in this country. The best opportunity we have to do this is through a collaborative approach, working together to help people discover Scottish gardens.”
Founders include the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, National Trust for Scotland, Brightwater Holidays, Scotland’s Gardens, Attadale Gardens and Cambo Estate.
The network aims to increase visitor numbers to Scottish gardens, reap financial benefits for its members and drive national and international tourism in the gardens and natural environment sector. Already, more than 100 gardens and estates, from Castle of Mey in Caithness to Kailzie Gardens in the Borders, have signed up as members.
A £60,000 launch campaign, which includes the £30,000 contribution from VisitScotland’s Growth Fund, will take place this year. The network is working with marketing agency The Union to develop the new brand, logo and website as well as four seasonal Scottish Gardens Festivals. An official launch is planned at the Gardening Scotland event in May.
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “Scotland boasts beautiful gardens the length and breadth of the country and this award from the VisitScotland Growth Fund will help provide these attractions with an exciting new marketing platform. The Growth Fund is all about encouraging Scottish tourism businesses to work together to promote sectors or destinations so we are delighted to help the new national network with a campaign I am sure will provide a major boost for horticultural tourism in this country.”
VisitScotland research has shown that every year nearly 700,000 British holidaymakers visit a Scottish garden with 35,000 of these indicating that a garden visit was the main reason for their holiday. This market is worth over £200 million to Scotland in terms of tourism spend.
For more information on the VisitScotland Growth Fund, go to www.visitscotland.org
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
- growth fund
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation has three key roles:
- To market Scotland to all parts of the world to attract visitors
- To provide information – and inspiration – to visitors and potential visitors so they get the best out of a visit to Scotland
- To provide quality assurance to visitors and quality advice to the industry and partners to help the industry meet and strive to exceed customer expectations
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- According to a recent Deloitte study, the tourism economy supports 270,000 jobs in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the tourism economy contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business tourism in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
Year of Food and Drink 2015
- 2015 is the Year of Food and Drink, a celebration of Scotland’s natural larder and the role that food and drink plays in shaping our economic success.
- Scotland generates over £2.5m per day through food and drink tourism.
- A series of themed months will create an appetite for key areas of Scotland’s food and drink industries – from seafood and whisky to berries and high-quality meat
- For more information, visit www.visitscotland.com/tastescotland
