Press release -
Out of the blue
Scots are being encouraged to beat the January Blues by taking a holiday at home, as part of a new digital campaign by the national tourism organisations in the UK.
VisitScotland, in partnership with VisitBritain, VisitEngland, Visit Wales, Tourism Northern Ireland and London & Partners, has today (Monday 15 January) launched an online initiative to promote round-the-clock activities and experiences across the UK.
The ’24 Hours in the UK’ series of films, showcases a range of exciting and unmissable adventures you can have across the UK throughout a one-day period.
The Scottish footage, shot by influencers from Canada, Germany and France brings to life the diverse range of experiences that the country offers at various times of the day.
As well as inspiring Scots to take a holiday in the UK, the campaign will ask virtual visitors to vote for their favourite moments from the trips with the top five to be announced in the coming weeks.
Latest official statistics show that more people are taking holidays at home and are spending more too. From January to September 2017, Brits took 4.8 million domestic holidays in Scotland, spending £1.5 billion, an increase of 8.5% and 13% respectively on the first nine months of the previous year.
Scottish experiences to feature in campaign include:
- Watching the sunrise over Glen Coe
- Landing on the beach in Barra
- Embarking on a ‘sea-fari’ in Oban
- Enjoying a seafood dinner in St. Andrews
- Meeting the Perthshire wildlife on a trip with Highland Safaris
- Becoming a Master Blender at Glengoyne Distillery
- Sampling the nightlife on Glasgow’s Ashton Lane
- Discovering more about Edinburgh’s dark past with a ghost tour
- Seeing the Kelpies at night
Malcolm Roughead, VisitScotland’s Chief Executive, said: “From starting your day watching the sunrise over Glen Coe; to ending the night with cocktails on Glasgow’s Ashton Lane, Scotland is home to unforgettable adventures every hour of the day, all year round. Through this exciting campaign we hope to bring to life just a small selection of what Scotland has to offer visitors of all interests and ages.
“With many of us currently considering our 2018 travel plans we hope we can offer some travel inspiration to beat the winter blues and encourage Scots to enjoy one of our many mood-boosting experiences.
“Tourism is the heartbeat of the Scottish economy – causing a ripple effect which touches every industry, every community and creates economic wealth and jobs.”
To discover the 24 hour experiences, visit Join the World.To learn more about Scotland visit www.visitscotland.com
Watch the videos:
7am - https://youtu.be/4KgQntx5pYc
11am - https://youtu.be/Xib5SMKNR3w
2pm - https://youtu.be/S370pYA7l6Y
4pm - https://youtu.be/tGOmfg9NeVA
9pm - https://youtu.be/srGJGtpttQ8
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 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.
