EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, 2015-10-29 — /Travel PR News/ — With just over a month to go, Scots and Scots at heart are being encouraged to plan their perfect St Andrew’s Day weekend by taking advantage of the huge programme of offers, activities and events taking place across the country.
There are 560 free, two-for-one or child goes free activities and offers happening across 400 Scottish venues and attractions in the run up to St Andrew’s Day with downloadable vouchers available at www.scotland.org/standrewsday, presenting a variety of days out to suit every taste.
As part of this year’s St Andrew’s Day celebrations, Historic Environment Scotland will be offering thousands of free tickets to some of Scotland’s best known heritage attractions via a pre pre-registration scheme. Further details will be released later this month at www.historic-scotland.gov.uk.
In addition to the hundreds of offers going on throughout Scotland, a series of eleven funded events are taking place including the new Virgin Money Street of Light in Edinburgh and The St Andrew’s Day Fusion Festival in Dundee, through the Scotland’s Winter Festivals events programme, funded by the Scottish Government and managed EventScotland.
Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, said:
“St Andrew’s Day is going to be bigger than ever before with a huge range of offers and events taking place in the lead up to our national day. I’d encourage people to get together to celebrate and get involved in the fun and exciting activities taking place across the country.
“The celebrations are part of the Scottish Government’s Winter Festivals programme which this year has been provided with a record £390,000 of funding to support 21 key cultural events in 15 local authority areas across the country.”
Those looking for outdoor activities can take advantage of two-for-one surf lessons with Coast to Coast surf school in Dunbar, kids go free canoeing in Lochgilphead and a two-for-one offer on Segway Safari tours in Loch Lomond.
Budding young scientists will get free entry into the Stratosphere Science Centre in Aberdeen, while water babies can enjoy the huge variety of swimming centres offering free child classes across the country.
Mike Cantlay, VisitScotland Chairman, said:
“St Andrew’s Day is a chance to celebrate all the things that make Scotland so special – from our rich heritage and unique culture to our delicious food and drink and warm and welcoming people. This year is shaping up to be the biggest and best yet with a huge array of exciting events planned the length and breadth of the country. There really is something to suit all tastes!
“With 50 million people across the world claiming Scottish ancestry and the millions of others who simply love Scotland, the 30th November is the perfect time for the world to unite and celebrate Scotland, and what better way to do that there than in Scotland itself.”
A selection of home grown recipes are also available at www.scotland.org/standrewsday for those looking to celebrate St Andrew’s Day at home with friends and family.
To mark the celebrations, social media users are being asked to take to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to talk about their ideal St Andrew’s Day using the dedicated hashtag #mystandrewsday. Whether it’s sharing a picture of a Scottish landscape or landmark, posting a link to a Scottish recipe or sharing plans on how to celebrate St Andrews Day, #mystandrewsday will gather together everyone’s unique ways of celebrating.
To find out what’s going on in your area and download vouchers for your St Andrew’s Day out visit www.scotland.org/standrewsday
Scotland’s Winter Festivals is a programme of events which will run across Scotland in the lead up to St Andrew’s Day, through Christmas and Hogmanay, to Burns Night to promote and showcase Scotland as a modern and creative nation with a rich heritage. The programme will provide an opportunity to celebrate the best in Scottish music, arts, food and drink.
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Media information:
Kirsten Blackie, Lynne Hughes, Stephanie Forsyth or Nicola McArthur at Smarts
0141 222 2040 / first name.surname@smarts.co.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS:
St Andrew’s Day
1.St Andrew’s Day is Scotland’s national day, designed to celebrate the country’s history, culture and heritage with people both at home and abroad.
2.We welcome people from across the world to help us celebrate the wide range of special events taking place in the lead up to St Andrew’s Day -so locals and visitors can embrace our national day across the entire weekend of Friday 27th to Monday 30 November. Hundreds of attractions across Scotland will also be opening their doors to offer free or discounted entry to do something to celebrate St Andrew’s Day. To search the events list or to download the Day Out vouchers, visit www.scotland.org/dayout
3.For those looking to celebrate St Andrew’s Day at home with friends and family, there is a selection of seasonal recipes showcasing the range of Scotland’s natural larder to celebrate with a St Andrew’s Night In. All recipes are available on www.scotland.org/nightin
4.Whether you are planning a day out or night in, let us know how you are celebrating Scotland’s national day by using #mystandrewsday
Wherever you are in the world, you can celebrate St Andrew’s Day – from the United States and Canada to Australia, from Beijing to Bangladesh. Those who want to learn more about the traditional celebrations are encouraged to visit www.scotland.org/standrewsday where there is a whole host of fun and interactive digital resources, including a ‘Saltire Yourself’ app, Scottish Party Guide and a sample St Andrew’s Day menu. There is also a St Andrew’s Day app available to download for smart phones.
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.
- According to a recent Deloitte study, the tourism economy supports 270,000 jobs in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the tourism economy contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
- 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 Food and Drink 2015
- 2015 is the Year of Food and Drink, a celebration of Scotland’s natural larder and the role that food and drink plays in shaping our economic success.
- Scotland generates over £2.5m per day through food and drink tourism.
- A series of themed months will create an appetite for key areas of Scotland’s food and drink industries – from seafood and whisky to berries and high-quality meat
- For more information, visit www.visitscotland.com/tastescotland
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VisitScotland: 560 free, two-for-one or child goes free activities and offers happening across 400 Scottish venues and attractions in the run up to St Andrew’s Day