Press release -

Tourism reaches for the skies

VISITSCOTLAND Chairman John Thurso visited the Scottish Dark Sky Observatory in Ayrshire this week ahead of the first ever European Dark Sky Park conference.

Lord Thurso was given a tour of the facility within the Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park where outdoor lighting is controlled to make sure stargazers have the best view of the night sky.

The visit coincided with the start of the conference, organised by the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere. Taking place from 20 to 22 September at Cally Palace Hotel, Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfries & Galloway, the event brought together some of the world’s top dark sky experts with the aim of promoting rural development, tourism and tackling light pollution.

The conference was attended by astronomers, town planners, lighting specialists, environmentalists and academics who gathered to discuss the benefits of achieving a Dark Sky status. Galloway Forest Park became the first European and the fifth Dark Sky Park in the world in 2009, with tourism the prime driver for establishing the designation which generates an estimated £500,000 from tourism every year.

In his keynote address, Lord Thurso highlighted the success of the Dark Sky Park project that brings environmental, rural economy, tourism and health agendas together. He praised the success of the initiative that takes advantage of a free asset that, in particular, draws visitors to the region in the winter months.

Lord Thurso said: “Scotland’s reputation as a quality destination relies on continued investment and innovation to ensure that current provision meets future demand.

“Hosting Europe’s first ever Dark Sky Park conference is a fantastic opportunity to highlight the success of this collaborative project. Partnership and collaboration is at the heart of Scottish tourism and VisitScotland works with local industry to develop and deliver innovative initiatives that grow the visitor economy.”

Mark Gibson from the Scottish Dark Sky Observatory said: “We were delighted to welcome Lord Thurso for a tour of the Scottish Dark Sky Park Observatory. The European Dark Sky Place conference is an excellent opportunity to promote the success of the Dark Sky Park and share our knowledge and experience with a worldwide audience.”

For more information on the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere, visit: http://www.gsabiosphere.org.uk/

The Scottish Dark Sky Observatory will mark its 5th birthday in two weeks, when the brand new planetarium next to it will be opened by John Duncan, Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for Ayrshire & Arran. For more information, visit: https://scottishdarkskyobservatory.co.uk/

For more information on the Scottish Dark Sky Park, visit:

http://scotland.forestry.gov.uk/forest-parks/galloway-forest-park/dark-skies

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’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
  • This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
    1. Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
    2. Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
    3. Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
    4. Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
    5. Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
    6. Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
    7. Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
  • To ensure everyone can safely enjoy Scotland’s amazing countryside and landscapes, VisitScotland encourages all visitors to fully respect their surroundings by behaving in a responsible and appropriate way.
  • 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.
  • Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP
  • The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Programme. For further information visit www.gov.scot or follow @scotgovESIF
  • 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)
    • 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology
  • 2017 is the year to delve into the past and discover Scotland’s fascinating stories through a wide-ranging variety of new and existing activity to drive the nation’s tourism and events sector, boosting tourism across Scotland.
  • The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology begins on 1 January 2017 and will end on 31 December 2017. It will build on the momentum generated by previous themed years in Scotland including the 2015 Year of Food and Drink, Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
  • The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Built Environment Forum Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland.
  • The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is supported by £570,000 of Scottish Government funding.
  • The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
  • For more information visit visitscotland.com/HHA2017 or join the conversation at #HHA2017

Contacts

Amelia Whittaker

Press contact Senior Corporate Press Officer - Regional Contact for media enquiries on: South Region; Edinburgh and Lothians; Food and Drink; Scottish Thistle Awards 01750 723806