Press release -
LPGA rookie golf star has #ScotSpirit
American born golf professional and adopted Scot, Beth Allen, has literally been carrying #scotspirit around the world with her this year as she took to the fairways for her rookie season on the LPGA Tour.
The 35 year old native Californian, fell in love with Scotland, the Home of Golf, when she joined the Ladies European Tour in 2008. Now based in Edinburgh, Beth’s passion for her adopted country is reflected perfectly in VisitScotland’s global campaign which highlights how different people from across the country embody the ‘Spirit of Scotland’.
When Beth is not playing on tour or practicing at North Berwick West Golf Club she can be found exploring her beloved Leith or grabbing a coffee in Stockbridge. She is also fond of making the trip to Glasgow and exploring the bars and restaurants or playing some of the west coast links courses like Prestwick.
This week Beth returns to the fairways of Scotland when she tees off in the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open at Dundonald Links from the 27th until 30th July (www.ladiesscottishopen.com). Ahead of the tournament, Beth will also be a guest speaker at the Ladies Scottish Open Women’s Leadership Forum taking place today, Tuesday 25th July at the course.
2017 is an exciting year for women’s golf in Scotland with the newly co-sanctioned Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open being staged at the same venues as the Men’s Scottish Open. Next week will see The Ricoh Women’s British Open being hosted for the first time at Kingsbarns Links near St Andrews. Both events underline Scotland’s commitment to growing the women’s game as we look towards hosting The 2019 Solheim Cup at Gleneagles.
Beth said: “I have to say Scotland is a magical place. Whether I am walking the gothic streets of Edinburgh, shopping beneath the castle, crossing the Swilcan Bridge on the Old Course or hiking around Loch Lomond I always experience something different. I cannot say enough about the people of Scotland who have made this Californian feel incredibly welcome and they are the reason that the place is so unforgettable. I am immensely proud to carry #scotspirit on my golf bag as I travel the world playing the game I love on both the Ladies European Tour and now the LPGA”
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “Having one of Europe’s best female golfers carry our #scotspirit logo around the world is a fantastic opportunity for VisitScotland. As an adopted Scot, Beth is well placed to share her experiences of Scotland - its people, its history and of course its golf. Beth’s love for Scotland, The Home of Golf, makes her the perfect spokeswomen for our Spirit of Scotland campaign which has helped to raise the profile of Scotland to unprecedented levels as a place to visit, invest and live.”
The Spirit of Scotland campaign was launched in February 2016 and the dedicated hashtag #ScotSpirit has been used more than 430,000 times since. The campaign was built on extensive research which shows that people think Scotland has a unique spirit– whether it’s the magic of the landscapes or the warmth of the people.
Beth carries the #scotspirit logo on the front of her bag giving it significant exposure, reaching a global audience who regularly tune in to watch the LPGA on the Golf Channel in North America.
You can read more about Beth and her love for Scotland by going to her blog at https://www.visitscotland.com/blog/golf/beth-allen-experience/
Topics
- Tourism
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
- 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
