Press release -
Tourism tour gets underway on Arran
Tourism tour gets underway on Arran
VisitScotland Chief Executive makes trip to Island
THE ISLE of Arran was the first port of call for VisitScotland Chief Executive Malcolm Roughead as part of his national Tea & Tourism tour for 2018.
The 2018 tour got underway last week when Mr Roughead met with VisitArran Board members at Auchrannie Resort & Spa.
Successful partnership working between the tourism industry and destination management organisations is the theme of this year’s tour, which will once again see Mr Roughead visit a number of locations across Scotland.
VisitArran received the ‘Working Together for Tourism’ award at the Scottish Thistle Awards National Final in March, in which their ‘strong working ethos’ and ‘creative partnership working’ was commended by the judges.
The organisation’s innovative collaboration in launching the Arran Card in 2017, which has already generated £11,000 in sales in the first year, was also highlighted by the judges as a fantastic example of partnership working.
Other topics on the table of discussion with Mr Roughead were a digital strategy for Arran, operational sustainability and priorities for VisitArran for the next six months.
VisitScotland Chief Executive Malcolm Roughead said: “Tourism is at the very heart of economic success in Scotland – it is integral to sustaining communities like Arran by generating income, creating jobs and stimulating social change across the region.
“I have enjoyed meeting and speaking directly to the hard working team at VisitArran who have demonstrated great success at putting the island on the map as a quality visitor destination.
“From its breathtaking scenery, unique culture and heritage, world-class golf and sailing, not to mention its fantastic food and drink, the Isle of Arran really does offer the visitor a diverse range of great experiences.
“Last week, we launched the first ever collaborative global campaign - Scotland is Now - and the Isle of Arran is a perfect example of a region rich in history and heritage but forging forward in a way that is progressive, pioneering and inclusive.”
VisitArran Executive Director Sheila Gilmore said: “We are delighted to welcome Malcolm to Arran and to our Board meeting. This will give us all an opportunity to more greatly understand how we can work together in the future, and perhaps highlight some key issues that destination organisations address in day-to-day delivery.”
Malcolm Roughead is visiting a number of locations across Scotland again this year, as part of his national Tea and Tourism tour. A similar tour last year saw him convene 11 meetings around the country, engaging with more than 100 industry influencers.
Building on the successes of similar events held over the previous two years, this series of Chief Executive Listening Tour meetings gives tourism organisations and businesses the opportunity to speak directly to Mr Roughead.
Following his meeting with VisitArran, Mr Roughead visited Craufurdland Estate, near Kilmarnock, to hear about the development of a new restaurant and visitor experience, which is due to open at the end of this month.
The £0.5million development of ‘The Laird’s Table’ within the heart of Craufurdland Castle and Country Estate, near Kilmarnock, will put sustainability and heritage at the heart of its operations offering locally sourced food and support many local independent suppliers.
For more information on VisitArran, visit http://www.visitarran.com/
For more information on Craufurdland Estate, visit https://craufurdland.co.uk/
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
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.
