Press release -
Perthshire is calling me, now I’m going home!
Perthshire born Scottish singer/songwriter Dougie MacLean has officially opened the new VisitScotland Information Centre in Perth.
The composer of the classic song Caledonia, who lives in Perthshire, marked the occasion by being the first to add his personal good wishes for the future of the Centre to a specially created wish tree, in recognition of Perthshire’s reputation as Big Tree Country.
Situated in the High Street, the new VisitScotland Information Centre will help promote the Fair City and the wider Perthshire area to visitors, highlighting its delicious natural larder, thrilling adventure tourism sector and enthralling events programme including the Etape Caledonia, Perthshire Amber, the Enchanted Forest and the European Eventing Championships.
As well as perusing brochures, purchasing souvenirs and being inspired by local experts, visitors will also be able to use two state-of-the-art interactive screens allowing them to navigate a map of Perthshire and discover more about what the region has to offer.
The VisitScotland Information Centre, which offers free Wi-Fi, will also sell tickets to local attractions such as the Black Watch Museum, Scone Palace and Golf Perthshire passes offering a discount on play at 18 of the region’s courses.
Born in Dunblane, Dougie and his family moved to Butterstone near Dunkeld when he was a small child and he has lived close by ever since. While travelling the world with his music for the last 40 years he and his family have built up a recording, publishing and event business based in the Old School at Butterstone.
Dougie MacLean said: “It’s a pleasure to be opening the new VisitScotland Information Centre. We have worked with members of the VisitScotland teams throughout Perthshire in connection with our Perthshire Amber Festival in the autumn and really value their enthusiasm for the area and the welcome and help they provide. It’s great to have new premises in the heart of Perth city”.
Mike Cantlay, Chairman of VisitScotland, said: “Dougie is a fantastic local ambassador for tourism in Perth so it’s only fitting that he should officially open this new VisitScotland Information Centre.
“The city and the wider region is a treasure trove of tourism delights, attracting visitors from all over the world. The new Information Centre is designed to help inspire visitors to make the most of their time here and encourage them to return to the area again the future; this not only helps boost the economy, but also creates jobs and sustain communities.”
Councillor John Kellas, Convener of Perth & Kinross Council’s Enterprise & Infrastructure Committee, said: “The new VisitScotland Information Centre is a welcome addition to the High Street.Its new location is right in the hub of Perth City’s activities and can be easily found by all those looking for something to do.The Information Centre boasts a number of wonderful resources to ensure that anyone who visits will leave with a long list of exciting activities to do throughout Perth and Kinross.”
For more information visit: www.visitscotland.com/perthshire
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
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
