VisitScotland: New interactive online experience of some of Scotland’s most spectacular viewpoints

Edinburgh, Scotland, 2016-Nov-28 — /Travel PR News/ — A new interactive online experience of some of Scotland’s most spectacular viewpoints is set to put adventurous visitors in a spin during the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design 2016.

Paramotoring off Ben Nevis – Scotland’s tallest mountain at 1,346 metres high – and biking up Ben Lomond (974 metres), feature among state-of-the-art videos created by VisitScotland for its outdoor-themed online experience, 360 Outdoors Adventures.

The innovative videos allow viewers to spin the screen 360 degrees to give a complete panorama as video stars ascend and descend the hills. The national tourism organisation hopes the interactive films will inspire visitors to pull on their hiking boots, get on their bike or grab their climbing gear and sample the beautiful Scottish landscape for real.

The unique videos were filmed using a 360 camera rig, made up of six cameras attached to the participants, from which the footage was edited together.

360 Outdoors Adventures feature:

• Paramotoring off Ben Nevis
• Hiking up Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh.
• Mountain biking up Ben Lomond in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.
• Climbing up the Cuillin Ridge on Skye.

The online guide details routes to the top and safety advice for the most adventurous visitors.

The great outdoors is one of Scotland’s most attractive assets, with 49% of visitors inspired to come here due to the scenery and landscape. One in 10 respondents to the Scotland Visitor Survey 2015 visited Cairngorms National Park while one in five took in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

Last year 9 million day visits in Scotland by domestic visitors included outdoor activities as part of their trip, which amounted to £186 million in expenditure.

Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said:

With some of the most beautiful scenery in the world on our doorstep, Scotland’s landscape is one of our greatest assets and an important part of the visitor experience, inspiring almost half of all visitors who come here.

“The tourism industry needs to embrace new technology, innovation and new ways of working if it wants to compete in a competitive global market and VisitScotland is continually looking at unique ways to appeal to potential visitors.

“We hope this innovative visual experience will inspire more visitors to make the trip to Scotland and explore the great outdoors for real.”

Alasdair Eckersall, National Trust for Scotland Property Manager at Ben Lomond said:

“Ben Lomond is one of Scotland’s most popular Munros and looks great here. I have to say though that it is even better in real life.

“We hope that the video encourages visitors to swap screen time for green time and they come out to experience Scotland’s amazing natural heritage and learn more about what’s involved in its care.”

The National Trust for Scotland cares for Ben Lomond and 45 other Munros across Scotland. To find out more about their work visit www.footpathfund.org.uk.

To view the 360 Outdoors Adventures go to http://360outdoors.visitscotland.com

VisitScotland has also produced a beginner’s guide to Munro bagging. Go to https://www.visitscotland.com/see-do/active/walking/munro-bagging/beginners/

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
  2016 Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design
• 2016 will shine a spotlight on Scotland’s achievements in innovation, architecture and design through a wide-ranging, variety of new and existing activity.
• The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design started on 1 January 2016 and will end on 31 December 2016.It will build on the momentum generated by the 2015 Year of Food and Drink as well as previous years including Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
• Through a series of exciting events and activity, the year will showcase Scotland’s position as an “innovation nation”, its outstanding built heritage, and its thriving, internationally acclaimed creative industries sector.
• The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Architecture + Design Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS).
• The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design is supported by £570,000 of Scottish Government funding.
• The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
• Join the conversation at #IAD2016

Contacts:
Hamish Hutchinson
Corporate Press Officer – National
Edinburgh Tourism, Business Tourism, Scottish Thistle Awards
hamish.hutchinson@visitscotland.com
0131 472 2283
Out of hours – 0131 472 2324

Source: Visit Scotland

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