Press release -
A Digital Boost for Businesses
BUSINESSES in the Scottish Borders and Lothians are being urged to boost their digital skills as part of Scottish Tourism Month.
A month-long programme of digital training events has been launched for businesses in the Scottish Borders, Midlothian and East Lothian.
VisitScotland is working in partnership with Digital Tourism Scotland, Business Gateway, the Midlothian & Borders Tourism Action Group, Midlothian Tourism Forum, and the Scottish Borders Tourism Partnership to encourage businesses to take advantage of the digital training on offer.
The programme of events will run at venues throughout March and will include digital courses for all levels of digital skills, from getting started on Twitter and Hootsuite to Cyber Security Essentials.
VisitScotland Regional Director Paula Ward said: “We are delighted to be working together to provide tourism businesses in the Scottish Borders and Lothians with face-to-face advice and learning that is tailored for all levels of digital skills.
“Digital information and the widespread use of mobile devices have transformed the way visitors source information and make bookings, both pre- and on arrival. The first thing visitors do when they arrive in Scotland is switch on their mobile phone.
“By encouraging businesses to use more digital tools effectively, businesses can strengthen connections with potential and existing visitors and achieve efficiencies and greater productivity.
“I would encourage businesses to take up these opportunities during Scottish Tourism Month and take an important step to helping navigate the ever-changing digital landscape. Scotland’s reputation as a quality destination relies on continued investment and innovation to ensure that current provision meets future demand.”
Fergus Watson, Business Tourism Advisor for MBTAG said: “The courses on offer by our various partners in the Scottish Borders and Lothians during Scottish Tourism Month cover a wide variety of different disciplines and skillsets. They offer the ideal opportunity for all businesses to learn more about digital marketing and technology.
“We want to support businesses to remain competitive in the fast moving tourism industry and by using digital technology to become more creative and innovative, businesses will be better placed to adapt to new trends and remain ahead of the game.”
The programme kicks off in Hawick on 6th March with a Digital Briefing workshop on the future of digital in tourism and online booking. Further events will take place in Musselburgh, Galashiels and Loanhead throughout the month of March. For more information and to book a place, visit:
www.visitscotland.org/digital-skills-month-2018.aspx
Digital Tourism Scotland – a partnership between VisitScotland, Business Gateway, Scottish Government, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Tourism Alliance and Skills Development Scotland, offers further information on digital tourism training and marketing. Visit: www.digitaltourismscotland.co.uk
MBTAG involves Midlothian Council, Scottish Borders Council, Midlothian Tourism Forum, Scottish Borders Tourism Partnership, Scotrail and VisitScotland, and is funded by Scottish Enterprise’s Destination Development Fund and the Borders railway Blueprint fund, delivering a total investment of £350,000 in collaborative activity.
For more information on Scottish Tourism Month, visit: http://scottishtourismmonth.scot/
Photograph from left to right: Vanessa Wegstein, Digital Marketing Officer at Abbotsford House, Jemma Reid, Project manager from Midlothian & Borders Tourism Action Group, Sonia Valcarcel and Hélène Sinclair from VisitScotland and Markus Stitz from the Borders Book Festival, promote the power of digital.
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- east lothian
- midlothian
- scottish borders
- digital
- 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 five overarching strategies: Marketing, Events, Quality and Sustainability, Inclusive Tourism, International Engagement.
- 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
- 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
2018 Year of Young People
- The Year of Young People 2018 will be the next of the Scottish Government’s series of themed years, following the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology 2017.
- The Year of Young People (YoYP 2018) will inspire Scotland through its young people aged 8 to 26, celebrating their achievements, valuing their contributions to communities and creating new opportunities for them to shine locally, nationally and globally
- Central to YoYP 2018 will be a celebratory events programme that puts young people at the heart of its development and delivery, creating new and valuable experiences for young Scots and the wider public, with links to the inaugural 2018 European Championships.
- Over 200 young people throughout Scotland are currently being recruited to become YoYP 2018 Ambassadors. Ambassadors will ensure that people and organisations in their communities know about what’s happening and will lead on projects and activities to create events and opportunities to celebrate young people.
- The Year of Young People will have six themes which were developed in co-production with young people themselves:
- oParticipation – looking at how young people can influence public services and decisions which affect their lives
- oEducation – creating a stronger role for young people in shaping their learning
- oHealth and Wellbeing – supporting young people to lead healthier, active lives and have opportunities to learn about and improve their mental health and resilience
- oEquality and Discrimination – broadcasting the value of young Scots, challenging negative perceptions of young people, and supporting young people to take leading roles in challenging discrimination in all its forms.
- oEnterprise and regeneration – celebrating young people’s role in innovation, entrepreneurship and the Scottish economy as well as making Scotland a greener and more pleasant place to live
- oCulture – celebrating young people’s talent and contribution to Scottish culture and arts.
- Further information on what’s happening and how people can get involved can be found on the new website www.yoyp2018.scot or @YOYP2018 on Twitter.
