VisitScotland welcomes Norwegian’s new direct services from the United States to Edinburgh
Norwegian has launched new direct flights from the United States to Edinburgh
Norwegian has launched new direct flights from the United States to Edinburgh
EDINBURGH, Scotland, 2017-Feb-27 — /Travel PR News/ — VisitScotland has welcomed today’s news that three new direct low-cost services from the United States to Edinburgh – starting at under £70 – will begin this summer.
The national tourism organisation says the 14 weekly flights from the New York, Boston and New England areas, which will be operated by Norwegian for as low as £69 one way, will make Scotland an even more appealing destination for potential visitors from the US.
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “Scotland is more connected than ever before through transport and digital channels, giving it a louder voice within key markets. The United States is our biggest international market, and last summer we saw a 36 per cent increase in visitors from across the Atlantic.
“It is not only exciting to see Norwegian add direct flights between three new destinations in the US and Edinburgh but the announcement of low-cost fares on these transatlantic routes at a time when the exchange rate is already making Scotland a very appealing destination will undoubtedly generate a great deal of interest among US travellers.”
Norwegian CEO Bjorn Kjos said:“Norwegian is shaking up transatlantic travel once again with ground-breaking fares and never before seen routes. The cost of transatlantic travel has been too high for too long so by connecting Scotland with smaller US airports, we can offer some truly affordable fares, allowing as many people as possible to fly. These new transatlantic routes from Edinburgh build on the success of our long-haul flights from London into major US cities as we’re now able to offer passengers an even greater choice of affordable travel to the US.”
From 15 June, the new direct flights to Edinburgh will fly from Stewart International, New York (daily); Providence, Rhode Island (four days a week) and Bradley International, New England (three days a week).
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.
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
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)
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
