More than 150 people to take part in the first-ever Caledonian CacheFest on Saturday 27 May
More than 150 people to take part in the first-ever Caledonian CacheFest on Saturday 27 May
The first in a series of Geocaching events will take place in Peebles at the end of May
EDINBURGH, Scotland, 2017-May-17 — /Travel PR News/ — THE first in a series of hi-tech treasure hunts will take place in Peebles later this month that will encourage visitors to get outdoors and explore the area.
The first-ever Caledonian CacheFest will take place in the town on Saturday 27 May, with associated events across the weekend. More than 150 people are expected to take part in the modern day version of a treasure hunt. Participants will follow clues with help from their smartphones to discover dozens of caches hidden in the spectacular forest areas surrounding Peebles.
VisitScotland hope the family-friendly event in the heart of the Tweed Valley will bring visitors to the area to enjoy the very best of what the region has to offer.
Event organiser, Chris Meikle from Caledonian CacheFest, said: “Geocaching is a wonderful outdoor hobby using GPS devices to find hidden caches. There are three events planned in Peebles over the Bank Holiday weekend and we have worked closely with the Forestry Commission to take advantage of the stunning scenery and forest trails around Peebles. We hope to attract a few hundred geocachers to the area and hopefully introduce loads more locals to this great hobby.
“Our aim is to host similar events every two years and show that geocaching is not only a fun pastime for everyone, but it is also educational, available to everyone and good for your health.”
Manuela Calchini, Regional Partnerships Director for the South of Scotland, said: “I am delighted that Peebles and the wider Scottish Borders region has been chosen to host the first ever Caledonian CacheFest.
“Geocaching is an increasingly-popular pastime and events like this offer another opportunity to showcase the stunning scenery and countryside of the Scottish Borders to visitor and help boost the local visitor economy. Tourism is at the heart of the visitor economy in the Scottish Borders, generating economic success and growth opportunities, by showcasing the very best of what the region has to offer.”
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
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 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
SOURCE: VisitScotland
PRESS CONTACT
Amelia Whittaker
Corporate Press Officer
South Region, Taste Our Best
Amelia.Whittaker@visitscotland.com
01750 723806
Out of hours – 0131 472 2324
