Press release -
Borders Railway charges onto US market
A NEW film will shine the spotlight on Scotland’s southern scenic railway to visitors across the Atlantic.
VisitScotland has teamed up with leading online travel and lifestyle publisher Matador Network to produce a two-minute film to take people deep into the heart of one of the less explored regions of the country.
The new film – which has already received more than 600,000 views - has been developed to support the Borders Railway and inspire visitors from the US to explore Midlothian and the Scottish Borders on a trip to Scotland.
The film will be promoted on the Matador Network’s digital channels in the coming weeks with the activity guaranteed to deliver upwards of 550,000 views on the web’s largest independent travel media site.
The film is the latest activity in VisitScotland’s three year £367,000 marketing campaign to put the Borders Railway on the map. The funding provided by the Scottish Government, Scottish Borders Council and Midlothian Council, is being used to promote the Borders Railway to national and international markets.
Featuring some of the most memorable scenery and sights stretching along the 30-mile route from Edinburgh to Tweedbank, the film takes viewers on a journey into new landscapes to discover iconic attractions such as the home of Sir Walter Scott at Abbotsford House, Floors Castle in Kelso, Jedburgh Abbey, Rosslyn Chapel and Edinburgh Castle.
It also features some of the adrenaline-inducing feats and activities that can be enjoyed in the regions, from mountain biking and high-wire assault course at Glentress Forest to falconry at Dalhousie Castle and fishing at Bowhill House and Country Estate.
VisitScotland Chief Executive Malcolm Roughead 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. The momentous re-opening of the historic route last year by HM The Queen captured the attention of the world’s media. We want to build on this momentum and continue to shine a spotlight on the regions surrounding the Borders Railway which are now easier than ever before for visitors from the US to explore.
“We know that a fascination with Scotland exists for many people living in the US, especially through their ancestors and family links. The technology that has been used in this film shows off the dramatic landscape and historic attractions better than ever before and we hope that visitors from the US will be inspired to come and visit an area of Scotland they are perhaps unfamiliar with and take up the opportunities on offer as part of next year’s Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology.”
The Borders Railway opened in September 2015 following a £294 million investment by the Scottish Government to re-establish passenger railway services between Edinburgh through Midlothian to Tweedbank for the first time since 1969.
The development includes 30 miles of railway and seven stations with a timetable offering half-hourly services on weekdays and Saturdays, including peak time cross-Edinburgh services to and from Fife.
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 visit www.bordersrailway.co.uk To book tickets for the Borders Railway, visit www.scotrail.co.uk
The film can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xilpbPv6Dtk or
https://www.facebook.com/matadornetwork/videos/10154758994849394/
For more information on the south east of Scotland, visit http://matadornetwork.com/trips/facts-southeast-scotland-surprise/
Ends
Rosslyn Chapel is one of the many local attractions which features in the film. Photograph by Kenny Lam
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- international marketing
- borders railway
- corporate communications
Regions
- Scotland
otes to Editors
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- 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
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- 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.
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- 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)
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2016 Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design - 2016 will shine a spotlight on Scotland’s achievements in innovation, architecture and design through a wide-ranging, variety of new and existing activity.
- The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design started on 1 January 2016 and will end on 31 December 2016.It will build on the momentum generated by the 2015 Year of Food and Drink as well as previous years including Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
- Through a series of exciting events and activity, the year will showcase Scotland’s position as an “innovation nation”, its outstanding built heritage, and its thriving, internationally acclaimed creative industries sector.
- The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Architecture + Design Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS).
- The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design is supported by £570,000 of Scottish Government funding.
- The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
- Join the conversation at #IAD2016
