Press release -
Borders Railway celebrates two years
TWO years after it was re-opened, the Borders Railway shows no sign of losing momentum as it continues to capture the world’s attention.
VisitScotland’s international marketing campaign to promote the Borders Railway has reached almost 35 million people in the last two years, helping to inspire visitors to explore Edinburgh, Midlothian and the Scottish Borders.
Over 2.6million people have travelled on the Borders Railway since it re-opened two years ago. In August 2017, a unique experience offering passengers, for the first time, the opportunity to board a steam train in West Lothian and Fife to cross the Forth Bridge and onwards to the new Borders Railway proved a phenomenal success with 1680 passengers taking the journey over just four days.
The 31-mile Borders Railway route stretching from Edinburgh Waverley to Tweedbank was officially opened by HM The Queen on 9 September 2015. The second anniversary coincides with the opening of Queensferry Crossing.
As with Borders Railway, the bridge has been a catalyst for employment and other economic opportunities and is expected to lead to a stream of businesses looking to acquire land and property in the surrounding areas. It will also help advance tourism opportunities. Both projects are seen as key additions to Scotland’s transport infrastructure, helping to safeguard and strengthen Scotland’s economic prosperity.
Some of the key successes of the Borders Railway in the last two years which are included in a new infograhic (see attached) include:
More than 261,000 views of three Facebook Live videos of the first steam train experience on 6th August 2017 generating 1395 comments across the three posts.
More than 1.1million views of a two-minute Borders Railway film produced by VisitScotland in partnership with leading US online and lifestyle publisher Matador Network
More than 1.4million online views of Borders Railway films produced by VisitScotland in the last two years
Over 2.6million passengers have travelled on the Borders railway line since it re-opened in September 2015, with more than 65% of visitors that used the line stating that the railway line was a factor in their decision to make their trip.
Almost 35 million potential visitors reached as a result of marketing of the Borders Railway by VisitScotland in 2016-2017.
A 10.6% rise in visitors to Abbotsford House in Melrose, and a 9.1% rise in visitors to Crichton Castle in Pathhead, between 2015 and 2016.*
An 8% rise in tourism employment in the Scottish Borders, and a 4.1% increase in Midlothian.
As part of the Borders Railway Blueprint partnership, VisitScotland seeks to maximize benefits from the new Borders Railway. £367,000 was invested in a unique three-year (2015-2017) national and international marketing campaign to put the new Railway on the map. The funding was provided by Scottish Borders Council and Midlothian Council, with match funding from the Scottish Government.
VisitScotland will continue to work with partners to promote the Borders Railway to national and international markets with digital marketing activity in Canada and Germany planned in the next year.
Riddell Graham, Director of Partnerships at VisitScotland said:
“The Borders Railway has had a massive impact on the local economy and has encouraged people to come and visit this part of the country from all over the world. From the momentous re-opening of the historic route by HM The Queen to this summer’s unique steam train opportunity, the Borders Railway has well and truly captured the attention of the world’s media.
“We want to ensure that the spotlight continues to shine on the regions surrounding the Borders Railway and the next phase of our international marketing campaign will focus on inspiring overseas visitors from Canada and Germany to make the trip.
“Scotland’s reputation as a quality destination relies on continued investment and innovation to ensure the current provision meets future demand, and the success of the Borders Railway shows just how important this is.”
Lindley Kirkpatrick, Head of ScotRail’s Borders Railway programme said:
“The Borders Railway has been an extraordinary success. Each and every day thousands of people are travelling to and from the region for work, to study and to catch up with friends and family. It has also really opened up this most beautiful part our country to the tourism market that is so important for our country. Businesses are thriving, communities are being strengthened and opportunities are being opened up for people young and old.
“As we continue to build the best railway that Scotland has ever had, we will be looking at more ways to support the line. The passenger numbers we have seen in the first two years are really impressive, but we know that this is just the beginning of the story.”
Danny Cusick, Chair of the Borders Railway Blueprint Leaders Group and Director of Tourism at Scottish Enterprise, said: “We’ve always been confident that the Borders Railway project would deliver real economic opportunities for the area, and the numbers highlight that not only has this proven to be a boost for the local economy, but it is fast becoming one of Scotland’s most loved tourist attractions.
“We will continue to work with the partnership in driving forward new and emerging opportunities for economic development in the region.”
Learn more about what can be discovered in Edinburgh, Midlothian and the Scottish Borders at www.visitscotland.com
For more information on the Borders Railway, please visitwww.bordersrailway.co.ukTo book tickets for the Borders Railway, visitwww.scotrail.co.uk
*Moffat Centre Scottish Visitor Attraction Report 2017
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
- borders railway
- scottish borders
- midlothian
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
