Edinburgh, Scotland, 2017-Jun-21 — /Travel PR News/ — Economy Secretary Keith Brown today (Jun 20, 2017) revealed the date the Queensferry Crossing will open to traffic.
Details of an opportunity for the public to walk across the new bridge were also announced.
On a visit to the Forth Replacement Crossing construction site today, Mr Brown explained the process for opening Scotland’s newest icon. Key dates as follows:
The Queensferry Crossing will open to traffic on August 30, 2017
The bridge will then close to allow the public to take part in a ‘once in a lifetime’ chance to walk over the new bridge on September 2 and 3;
Details of an official opening ceremony to follow;
The bridge will transition to a motorway once the final public transport links to the north of the Forth Road Bridge are completed. Full details to be provided for road users in the weeks ahead of opening the bridge.
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland said:
“The excitement really is building around the opening of this magnificent feat of engineering – the Queensferry Crossing. We are delighted that a date has now been announced. Scotland will become the world’s first destination to have three bridges spanning three centuries in one stunning location.
“The Forth Bridges are already icons of Scotland, recognised worldwide for their importance, and the addition of the Queensferry Crossing consolidates this global appeal. We very much look forward to welcoming the new bridge to our hearts as we have done with the two bridges before. The opening event is set to be a once-in-a-generation spectacular – good luck to all those who enter the ballot to walk the bridge!”
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
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
Contact:
Kate Turnbull
Corporate Press Manager
kate.turnbull@visitscotland.com
0131 472 2324
Out of hours – 0131 472 2324
