Press release -
Good Morning Shetland
It’s familiar to many as the brooding backdrop of the hit BBC crime series Shetland, but TV viewers are set to enjoy the sunnier side of one of Scotland’s most scenic islands during a unique live broadcast today (6 August).
ITV breakfast show, Good Morning Britain, has made the trip north, for the first time, as part of special series of weather reports linked to places that have appeared in TV series.
Weather presenter Laura Tobin will share details of the day’s outlook from Shetland’s stunning Sumburgh Head Lighthouse.
Accompanied by interviews with a local detective and film footage from parts of the island that featured in the BBC Shetland series, the report is part of Good Morning Britain’s “TV Towns”, visiting the people and places behind some of the country’s popular programmes, including Downtown Abbey, Emmerdale and Call the Midwife.
VisitScotland has been working closely with the crew to facilitate their trip north and advise on locations. Promote Shetland has also helped offer their technical expertise to ensure the broadcast could take place.
The national tourism organisation hopes the Shetland broadcast will introduce even more people to the beauty, culture and warm hospitality of island life. Recent research shows that 40 per cent of visitors to the UK come here after seeing the destination on film or on television.
Good Morning Britain Weather Presenter Laura Tobin, said: “This is my first time on Shetland and I have totally fallen in love with the place and the incredibly friendly local people. I will definitely be back! Not only is it breathtakingly beautiful here, the coasts, wildlife and cloud formations mean it is a fascinating place to study meteorology. I’m very lucky to have such an interesting job and getting to travel to places like Shetland is the icing on the cake. Shetland really sells itself in the footage and I’m sure after watching the piece our viewers will be inspired to take their own trip to this amazing island.”
Steve Mathieson, VisitScotland Island Manager, said: “Shetland, the TV series was a fantastic opportunity to showcase our famous scenery to a TV audience of millions and inspire even more people, such as the crew at Good Morning Britain, to take the trip to this beautiful part of the world.
“It’s been a real thrill to show Laura and the team some of our tourism treasures and extremely exciting to see the newly renovated lighthouse and visitor centre take a starring role in Laura’s weather report. With dramatic landscapes, majestic wildlife and the crashing waters of both the Atlantic Ocean and North Sea, a visit to Shetland is a truly unforgettable experience. We hope that Good Morning Britain’s viewers like what they see and come visit us soon.”
For more information on things to see and do in Shetland please visit: www.visitscotland.com/Shetland
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:
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- 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
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- 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 events 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
