VisitScotland launches new marketing campaign to encourage more visitors to Clackmannanshire

Inglewood House and Spa, Alloa – the stunning venue for the Clackmannanshire business event

EDINBURGH, Scotland, 2017-Mar-14 — /Travel PR News/ — Key players from Clackmannanshire’s tourism sector will meet at the Inglewood House and Spa in Alloa on the evening of Tuesday, 28 March, to find out about an important new marketing campaign to encourage more visitors to explore the area.

Organised by VisitScotland on behalf of partners in the local tourism business group Discover Clackmannanshire, the event will introduce local firms to the new £20,000 digital marketing campaign for Clackmannanshire, supported by VisitScotland.

The national tourism organisation’s Growth Fund* provided £10,000 for the new campaign, which is match-funded by Discover Clackmannanshire members, including Clackmannanshire Council, Alloa Round Table, Alloa Town Centre BID, Gean House/Ceteris, Inglewood House and Spa, Sterling Mills Outlet Shopping Village and The Woods Caravan Park.

The event will feature a presentation on the new year-long campaign by Discover Clackmannanshire Chairman Steven Campbell, of Inglewood House and Spa, who will reveal how the ‘Wee County’ will be promoted through digital marketing activity, including a programme of social media, a revamped website, interactive mapping, visitor itineraries and new promotional video.

The evening’s guest speaker will be Neil Robertson, better known online as Travels With a Kilt, who is a digital marketing consultant and one of Scotland’s most influential outdoors travel bloggers, with a massive online following for his adventures across a range of channels – including 15.8k followers on Instagram alone.

The self-professed ‘travelling Scotsman and man in a skirt’ will share some of his experiences of exploring Clackmannanshire and provide practical tips on how local businesses can get behind the new digital marketing drive and using social media to support the campaign to attract more visitors.

Steven Campbell, Chairman of Discover Clackmannanshire said:There is real enthusiasm within the industry here for our new marketing approach and this exciting new campaign so I’m looking forward to this opportunity to share details about it with fellow businesses from the local community. I am confident that they will be very supportive of all the plans and keen to know how best we can all work together to capitalise on the opportunities it presents.”

Travels With a Kilt travel blogger Neil Robertson said: “I am passionate about unearthing the lesser-known spots on Scotland’s world-class tourism map, believing that every region is unique and has its own special appeal. Thanks to its stunning landscapes, fantastic walking and cycling routes and numerous evocative historical sites in particular, I’m delighted to help shine the spotlight on Clackmannanshire.

“The investment being made in digital marketing will do wonders for the worldwide exposure that the region craves and will thrive on. I look forward to supporting this exciting collaboration of partners and helping Clackmannanshire to realise its potential as a travel destination on the rise.”

Liz Buchanan MBE, VisitScotland Regional Partnerships Director, said “The launch of the new campaign makes this an exciting time for tourism in Clackmannanshire, and provides opportunities for all kinds of businesses to benefit from the new profile it will bring.

“I hope this event attracts a great turnout of businesses of all kinds from across Clackmannanshire, including those who perhaps haven’t thought of themselves as part of the tourism industry before, such as transport providers, retailers, cafes and pubs. Support from all businesses is what will make this #DiscoverClacks campaign a huge success and make a valuable contribution to the local economy.”

The evening will include an opportunity to ask the speakers questions and there will also be a ‘mini-marketplace’ featuring stands by organisations including Ceteris/Business Gateway, LEADER, VisitScotland and others.

The event is free to attend for local businesses and, as demand for places is expected to be high, those wishing to attend should register as soon as possible at: https://discoverclacks.eventbrite.co.uk

For more information about Discover Clackmannanshire, go to: www.discoverclackmannanshire.com

To find out more about the VisitScotland Growth Fund, go to: www.visitscotland.org/growthfund

ENDS

*The VisitScotland Growth Fund is open to applications from groups of three or more businesses to support well planned, inspiring and new marketing campaigns.

For further information contact:

Ellen Drummond Ferroni, VisitScotland Corporate Press Officer

T: 0141 566 4019; M: 07801 820757; E: ellen.drummondferroni@visitscotland.com

Please note, I work Mon-Thurs.

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.
  • 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
  • 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

2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology

  • 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