VisitScotland: Spectacular two days of St Andrew’s Day celebrations in St Andrew

EDINBURGH, Scotland, 2016-Dec-01 — /Travel PR News/ — What is believed to be the biggest group of Andrews ever assembled has enjoyed a spectacular two days of St Andrew’s Day celebrations in – appropriately enough – St Andrews.

A team of kilted VisitScotland staff scoured four of Europe’s capital cities – London, Paris, Berlin and Dublin – to bring 21 Andrews (including men and women called Andre, Andrea, Andreea and Andreas) to the ancient Fife town which bears the name of Scotland’s patron saint as part of the national tourism organisation’s Spirit of Scotland campaign.

The unique gathering saw the European ‘Andrews’ experience Scotland’s famed warm welcome before taking part in a number of activities, including the world’s biggest outdoor ceilidh, a round of golf and even a Highland Games on West Sands beach.

The group’s adventures across the two days were captured in a short film, launched on www.visitscotland.com today, St Andrew’s Day (30 November).

Scots and prospective visitors are being encouraged to share the video, which promotes the warmth of the Scottish people and their unique #ScotSpirit, via social media.

VisitScotland took the special guests to enjoy the third year of the St Andrew’s Day Celebrations, which is co-ordinated by local charity the St Andrews Partnership and supported by Scotland’s Winter Festivals.

Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “Our global campaign – the Spirit of Scotland – showcases the country’s personality and people to the world and invites international audiences to sample it for themselves.

“Not only has our unique St Andrew’s Day celebration created wonderful lifelong memories for our European ‘Andrews’, but our film will help to spread the Spirit of Scotland around the globe and inspire more people – whatever their names – to come here and experience our spectacular landscapes, rich heritage and, of course, the warm welcome of our people.”

Andrea Henry, 25, from Dublin, said: “I’d never been to Scotland before this weekend – it’s a lot warmer than I thought it would be! St Andrews is very beautiful, we had a fantastic welcome and the whole experience has been fab. I didn’t know St Andrew’s Day was a thing but I’m glad it is and I’m glad my parents named me Andrea so I could be a part of it.”

Andreas Hentze, 48, from Berlin, said: “This is my first trip to Scotland and I absolutely love it. St Andrews is a very beautiful town and I will definitely be coming back.”

Andrew Stuck, 58, from London, said: “It’s been amazing, really great fun. People in Scotland are so welcoming. My mother’s family was from Glasgow and she named me Andrew to keep the Scottish connection. I feel like I’ve only really scratched the surface of Scotland so I’ll have to come again.”

Jim McArthur, Chairman of the St Andrews Partnership, said: “St Andrews is home to Scotland’s best and most authentic St Andrew’s Day Celebrations. There can be no better place for our international guests to experience our patron saint’s day than here in the town which bears his – and their – name! All of the Andrews were given a warm welcome by both the local community and the many other visitors in St Andrews enjoying our events.”

Jerry Beaulier, Chair of Tourism St Andrews, said: “Tourism St Andrews were thrilled to have the ‘Andrews’ and ‘Andreas’ visiting on St Andrew’s day. There is nowhere more iconic than St Andrews to celebrate our national day and there is nowhere better for an Andrew or Andrea to celebrate than the town that bears his or her name and was home to the Patron Saint of Scotland. This was a unique and special experience for them all.”

A Galilean fisherman, Andrew the Apostle has been the patron saint of Scotland since 1320, at the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath. He is also the patron saint of Greece, Russia, Romania and Barbados.

To view the video, go to www.visitscotland.com

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

SOURCE: VisitScotland

PRESS CONTACT

Tom Maxwell
Corporate Press Officer – National
Film Tourism, International Initiatives, Travel Trade, Growth Fund, Accessibility, Expo
tom.maxwell@visitscotland.com
0131 472 2409
Out of hours – 0131 472 2324

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