VisitScotland: Edinburgh Santa Fun Run & Walk 2015 on 13 December 2015

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, 2015-10-29 — /Travel PR News/ — Festive visitors to Scotland’s capital are making dressing up in Santa suits and running in the city a staple of their holiday experience, says national tourism body VisitScotland.

West Princes Street Gardens will turn into a sea of red and white on Sunday, 13 December 2015 with the Edinburgh Santa Fun Run & Walk 2015.

Fundraising Santas and Santa’s Little Helpers will run, walk and stroll over the 2.5km circuit in aid of children’s charity and organisers, When You Wish Upon A Star.

Organisers say many jolly visitors plan their visit to Scotland during the winter festival season to coincide with the family fun run in Edinburgh, now in its 11th year.

Last year’s event saw more than 1,500 taking part, with about 53% of all participants coming from across the rest of the UK. The majority of overseas participants travelled from Ireland while some ventured from as far as Singapore, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.

This year organisers hope to more than double the number of entrants – up to 3,500 – with ages of past runners ranging from just a few months to 96 years old!

Manuela Calchini, VisitScotland Regional Partnerships Director, said:

“Edinburgh is a spectacular place to visit during the winter festival and the Santa Fun Run & Walk in the beautifulWest Princes Street Gardens adds to the colourful activities on show.

“Scotland’s capital has plenty to see and do this winter – from family shows to fun attractions to get visitors and residents in the festive mood – so it is little wonder that participants plan to make the most of their visit.”

When You Wish Upon a Star is a national charity which grants wishes of children living with life threatening illnesses. It has transformed the lives of the children and families since 1990 and granted more than 16,000 wishes across the UK.

Margaret Rowarth, When You Wish Upon A Star, Scotland Fundraising Manager & National Events Co-ordinator, said:

“Taking part in the Edinburgh Santa Fun Run & Walk will help us continue granting the very special wishes for children who are living with a life-threatening illness, giving them time out from painful treatments and hospital appointments. It also gives parents a chance to see their children smile, creating precious treasured memories which last a lifetime. 

“The Edinburgh Santa Fun Run & Walk is a great way to get into the Christmas spirit and with so much to do in Edinburgh participants will have the opportunity to enjoy time with family, friends and work colleagues, whilst creating their own magical memories. What’s more, you don’t have to be a runner to take part; it’s all for fun!”

To enter the Edinburgh Santa Fun Run & Walk 2015 go online to http://www.thesantarun.org.uk/or call 01357 529950.

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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:
  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
  5. 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
  6. Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
  7. 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

CONTACTS

Hamish Hutchinson

Corporate Press Officer – National
Edinburgh Tourism, International Initiatives, UK & Ireland Initiatives, Sports Tourism
hamish.hutchinson@visitscotland.com
0131 472 2283
Out of hours – 07699 766986

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