Press release -
Taking Scotland down under
With a raft of new flight options connecting Scotland to the Middle East and Australasia, plus the hotly anticipated premiere of the Outlander series on Australian television, VisitScotland is staging a summer promotional drive in two of its key Commonwealth markets, Australia and New Zealand.
Building on the success of a programme of activity last year to coincide with the Queen’s Baton Relay, the national tourism organisation has embarked on a two-week trade mission to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Auckland and Christchurch (16-30 Aug).
The visit comes ahead of the release of early bird travel fares for the 2015 summer season and on the back of huge global interest in Scotland after the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
With their strong ancestral links, Australia and New Zealand are important Commonwealth markets, worth an average £107 million to Scottish tourism every year. Last year, over 155,000 visitors came to Scotland from these countries.
VisitScotland believes the launch of several new and extended direct air routes - such as the Qatar Airways route from Doha to Edinburgh, Emirates’ now twice-daily direct flight from Dubai to Glasgow and Etihad Airways’ first non-stop daily service from Edinburgh to Abu Dhabi next year - will help make it easier for visitors to get to Scotland in 2014 and beyond.
2014 has been hailed as the year that Scotland welcomes the world with major events including the XX Commonwealth Games, The Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and the Year of Homecoming celebrations. VisitScotland wants to convert interest in the country into visitors and will use the mission to inspire both the media and tour operators with activities and events planned in 2015 and beyond.
As well as introducing the Australian and New Zealand travel trade markets to Scotland’s natural larder ahead of the Year of Food and Drink in 2015, VisitScotland is hoping to capitalise on the launch of Outlander.
Set and filmed in Scotland, the fantasy series has been described as Scotland’s answer to Games of Thrones. It premiered in Australia earlier this week (14th August) and the national tourism organisation believes it could turn Scotland into a magnet for fans of the show and Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling novels.
A number of Outlander tours already operate in Scotland, with Edinburgh-based Rabbie’s Small Group Tours set to launch its Outlander-inspired trail in October.
Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing said: “With strong ancestral links, Australasia is one of Scotland’s most prominent tourism markets, and with the Commonwealth Games baton recently being handed from Scotland to Australia’s Gold Coast, we now have even more in common.
“Scotland has so much to offer visitors from Australasia and the rest of the globe, with 2015 set to be a bumper year for tourism.
“During this time we will be showcasing one of our most distinctive attributes during the Year of Food and Drink. Scotland’s excellent local produce is enjoyed across the globe and has played, and continues to play, a strong role in shaping our cultural identity and heritage. I would like to warmly invite the people of Australia and New Zealand to visit Scotland in 2015 to sample all of great tourist attractions and to join us in the celebration of the Year of Food and Drink”.
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “Tourism is one of Scotland’s most important industries and 2014 has been a fantastic year to showcase Scotland to the world. However, we must continue our efforts to convert the huge interest in Scotland into more visitors in future years.
“Missions such as this provide a platform to promote Scotland directly to the travel industry and media, who in turn can promote Scotland to the millions of people in Australia and New Zealand. These countries, particularly Australia are key markets for us. Attracting more visitors, helps create jobs and boost our economy.”
The VisitScotland Trade Mission takes place from 16-30 August 2014. For more information on international marketing visit: http://marketingopps.visitscotland.com/
ENDS
For further information contact:
Louise Purves
Corporate Press Officer
Tel: 0131 472 2052
Louise.purves@visitscotland.com
Out of hours media enquiries: 07699 766986
|
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.
- 2014 is the year Scotland welcomes the world, when it hosts the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and more than 800 Homecoming events throughout the country.For more information on Homecoming Scotland 2014, go to www.visitscotland.com
- The VisitScotland Information Centre network is a unique face-to-face channel engaging with around five million visitors and locals each year. Everyone who uses a VisitScotland Information Centre goes on to spend an additional £5.35, generating over £24 million for Scotland’s economy.
- According to a recent Deloitte study, tourism employs 270,000 people in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the industry 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.
- 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
- For more information on VisitScotland’s annual review please go to www.visitscotland.org/about_us/our_focus/annual_report.aspx
