Press release -
Riding the crest of an Outlander wave
An historic ship that plays a starring role in Outlander is helping to showcase Scotland to a group of influential tour operators from North America.
An afternoon tea on Reaper, which is berthed at the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther, Fife, is a highlight of a four-day fam trip organised by VisitScotland as part of this week’s expo trade show.
The fishing vessel, which was launched in 1901, is seen in the first episode of series two of the hit television show, during which protagonists Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser can be seen arriving at the French port of Le Havre.
The scene was shot at Dysart Harbour, which is situated further down the Fife coastline and which is also on the itinerary for the group of 16 SCOTSagents from the United States and Canada.
SCOTSagents are tour operators who have completed an online VisitScotland training course that gives them the knowledge and resources to promote Scotland. On completion of the course, they are given the SCOTSagents endorsement that gives them a competitive edge when organising holidays.
Other Outlander filming locations featuring on the fam trip, which finishes on Sunday, include:
Doune Castle, Stirling – which doubles as Castle Leoch in the television series
• Falkland, Fife –1940s Inverness
• Culross – the village of Cranesmuir
• Drummond Castle Gardens, Perthshire – the grounds of the Palace of Versailles
• Deanston Distillery, Stirling – a warehouse in Le Havre
• Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway, West Lothian – wartime London railway station
• Hopetoun House, South Queensferry – the home of the Duke of Sandringham
It is not the first time a VisitScotland expo fam trip has been based around a screen icon, with a group of international tour operators enjoying a James Bond-themed journey around Scotland in 2014 and a cinema and literary journey last year.
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “Our VisitScotland expo fam trips always prove extremely popular among tour operators, as it gives them the chance to explore the country they help to promote. This Outlander excursion features a variety of stunning locations and visitor attractions used in both series one and series two, and we hope that, as a result, these will become firm fixtures for potential holiday makers.
“North America is a huge market for Outlander fans and, with 40 per cent of visitors inspired to come to the UK after seeing a location on film or on television, it is important that we continue to promote Scotland on the back of the show’s popularity.”
Based on the bestselling books by Diana Gabaldon, the Outlander television series is produced by Sony Pictures Television. The second series is currently being shown in the UK by Amazon Prime.
VisitScotland expo is Scotland’s premier business-to-business travel trade event, with expo 2016 taking place at the Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, from 20-21 April.
For more information on VisitScotland expo, go to www.visitscotlandexpo.com
For more information on Outlander locations in Scotland, go to www.visitscotland.com/outlander
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
- film 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
- 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)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business events in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design 2016 - 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 begins on 1 January 2016 and ends on 31 December 2016 and 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 Scottish Government, 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 events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
- Join the conversation at #IAD2016
- Events can join the 2016 Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design Partner Programme throughout the year by visiting http://www.eventscotland.org/YIAD_partner_programme
