VisitScotland eUpdate - April 2008
Welcome to the fourth eUpdate of the year which features a wide range of articles which we hope you will find of interest.
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Aberdeen & Grampian
Influential tourism buyers from Russia, Czech Republic, Spain and Brazil visited Aberdeen and Grampian last week, as part of a major tourism drive to position the area as a must visit destination for consumers from emerging tourism markets.
More...Aberdeen & Grampian
Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay opened the authentic reproduction Victorian saloon carriage in Ballater earlier this month.
More...Aberdeen & Grampian
The COAST Festival of the Visual Arts is a new annual festival coming to Banff and Macduff from the 23-26 May 2008.
More...Aberdeen & Grampian
Hospitality Training Aberdeenshire is offering the following courses to hospitality staff over the coming months.
More...Aberdeen & Grampian
Flybe has announced extra flights on its route between Gatwick and Aberdeen Airport this summer.
More...Aberdeen & Grampian
Aberdeen Airport is celebrating after beating off world-wide competition to win a prestigious award for outstanding customer satisfaction.
More...Aberdeen & Grampian
All the latest news and diary dates from the Grampian food Forum…
More...Angus & Dundee | Perthshire
Crieff businesswoman Verona Sutherland has proved her interior design skills have star quality - five star quality to be precise.
More...Angus & Dundee | Perthshire
Park House Bed & Breakfast has claimed its place as one of the top B&Bs in Angus, and indeed Scotland, with the awarding of a VisitScotland five star award.
More...Angus & Dundee | Perthshire
Organisers of the inaugural Angus & Dundee ‘Roots Festival’ are forging ahead with arrangements for the festival which will provide a focus for people whose ancestors came from Angus & Dundee to visit the area to find out more about their ancestral homeland.
More...Angus & Dundee | Perthshire
A brand new DVD showcasing the stunning scenery of Perthshire Big Tree Country (PBTC) from the air is now available.
More...Angus & Dundee | Perthshire
An ambitious £4.6 million project to breathe new life into the Stanley Mills complex, on the banks of the River Tay, is now complete.
More...Angus & Dundee | Perthshire | Sustainable Tourism
The Scottish Wildlife Trust [SWT] is delighted to announce that the original female osprey has returned to her summer home at Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve near Dunkeld.
More...Ayrshire & Arran
The VisitScotland Prestwick Office is busy marketing golf to potential visitors via top quality golfing magazines such as Bunkered, Scottish Club Golfer and Golf Punk Magazine and a press trip into the area.
More...Ayrshire & Arran
The Ayrshire and Arran Disability Awareness Workshop, sponsored by VisitScotland and supported by the Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce was held at the Parkstone Hotel recently.
More...Ayrshire & Arran
Following on from a successful trial last year, foreign drivers will be encouraged to pick up free postcards throughout the 2008 tourist season to help keep them safe and legal on Ayrshire roads.
More...Ayrshire & Arran
Food lovers have the chance to sample some of Ayrshire’s finest restaurants and suppliers as VisitScotland launches its popular Dine Around £15 fixed price offer in the region alongside a very special Regional Gourmet Showcase.
More...Argyll, Loch Lomond & Forth Valley
It’s clearly the season for success for Argyll accommodation providers, as Oban gets its first five star guest house and industry awards are picked up by hotels in Taynuilt and Coll.
More...Argyll, Loch Lomond & Forth Valley | Greater Glasgow & Clyde Valley
All tourist information centres in the west of Scotland are offering free picture postcards to overseas visitors to promote safe car touring experience of Scotland.
More...Argyll, Loch Lomond & Forth Valley
Families in Scotland are being urged to vote for both Mount Stuart in Rothesay and Tarbet, Loch Lomond as the UK’s favourite picnic spot in this year’s Warburtons Picnic Awards.
More...Borders
www.visitscottishborders.com has been re-launched in order to offer a much more user friendly site.
More...Borders
VisitScotland has got together with Trout & Salmon Magazine to give readers information on finding the perfect fishing holiday in Scotland.
More...Borders
New research shows Peebles Traders Association has succeeded in driving up business and attracting extra visitors to the Borders town in 2007.
More...Borders
Stay ahead of what’s happening in the Scottish Borders and you can pass on information to your visitors about events they can experience. Coming up - the Borders Book Festival
More...Borders
The Berwickshire Dive Tourism Association has just launched its new brand and website at the London Dive Show.
More...Borders | Dumfries & Galloway
All our Tourist Information Centres are now open and fully staffed for the 2008 season. New product ranges exclusive to VisitScotland are on offer at exceptionally good prices.
More...Borders | Dumfries & Galloway
There is now support for local tourism businesses in the form of practical help with a business pack and material for web sites.
More...Dumfries & Galloway
Dumfries will host the World Mountain Bike Conference on Sustainability (WMBC) for the first time in May next year, and with interest already building from delegates as far away as Kathmandu, the impact on the local economy will be considerable.
More...Dumfries & Galloway
Spring Fling, Scotland’s premiere annual art and craft open studio event, is a unique event combining a visit to Dumfries & Galloway’s finest artists’ and makers’ studios with a tour of the region’s stunning countryside scenery.
More...Dumfries & Galloway
A new free booklet about the best places to see wildlife in Dumfries & Galloway has been launched.
More...Edinburgh & Lothians
Over 25 businesses from Edinburgh and the Lothians attended this year’s VisitScotland Expo in Aberdeen, where around 250 suppliers of tourism products from all over Scotland were exhibiting.
More...Edinburgh & Lothians
The next East Lothian Tourism Forum meeting will take place at Lennoxlove House on Tuesday 29th April at 2.30pm
More...Edinburgh & Lothians
Edinburgh based Timberbush Tours has recently formed a new partnership with Scotland’s most popular whisky distillery, The Famous Grouse Experience at Crieff, Perthshire.
More...Edinburgh & Lothians
National Museums Scotland’s Concorde Experience at the National Museum of Flight, East Fortune is just one of the new additions to the 2008/9 Edinburgh Pass.
More...Edinburgh & Lothians
VisitScotland and all four local authorities across Edinburgh and Lothians have been working jointly to develop the Mary, Queen of Scots Trail initiative.
More...Edinburgh & Lothians
Midlothian Provost Councillor Adam Montgomery launched the Midlothian Tourism Action Plan 2008-10, last month at Dalhousie Castle and Spa.
More...Fife
Recent iTunes ‘download of the week’ artist King Creosote and hugely popular music festival dynamos The Peatbog Faeries will light up the inaugural ‘Big Hullaballoo’ concerts during The Big Tent Festival, Scotland’s Festival of Stewardship which takes place in Falkland over the weekend of 26th and 27th July.
More...Greater Glasgow & Clyde Valley
Visitors booking one of the range of tours offered by Timberbush Tours, will each enjoy a complimentary Famous Grouse miniature thanks to a new partnership with the Perthshire attraction.
More...Greater Glasgow & Clyde Valley
Families in Scotland are being urged to vote for the Botanic Gardens in Glasgow as the UK’s favourite picnic spot in this year’s Warburtons Picnic Awards.
More...Greater Glasgow & Clyde Valley
Networking events, the launch of ‘The Worlds’ and more good news for Kelvingrove.
More...Greater Glasgow & Clyde Valley
Renfrewshire tourism operators have been getting frisky with their business cards and trying out some of their best lines on each other at a ‘speed dating’ event held at Braehead’s Xscape complex.
More...Highlands
Influential tourism buyers from France, Brazil, Spain and Austria visited the Highlands recently, as part of a major tourism drive to position the area as a must visit destination for consumers from emerging tourism markets.
More...Highlands
The newly renamed Ferrycroft Visitor Centre in Lairg has opened for the season after a major revamp, including comprehensive re-design of all the displays and the introduction of a range of interactive activities to make the centre more family friendly.
More...Highlands
This event is an opportunity for tourism businesses in Lochaber to get together to discuss the way forward for local tourism, to be held on the 24th April 2008 from 08.45 at the Alexandra Hotel in Fort William followed by lunch and networking from 13.30.
More...Highlands
Set in the spectacular woodland, loch and mountain scenery of Strathspey and the surrounding area, the former Aviemore Walking Festival has been re-launched under its new title to reflect an ever-expanding programme of activities, including rock climbing, canyoning, dog sledding and even spa treatments.
More...Highlands
The Cairngorms National Park can boast 19 independent hostels in the area giving travellers a wide choice of affordable places to stay.
More...Highlands
Baxters Loch Ness Marathon & Festival of Running organisers are pleased to announce the Fochabers-based food firm have confirmed their sponsorship of the event for a further three years.
More...Highlands
The Sutherland harpist who performed at Madonna’s wedding has joined forces with VisitScotland to help encourage North American visitors to “Holiday” in Scotland.
More...Highlands
You have a rare opportunity to hear one of Scotland’s best known storytellers, George Macpherson, as he celebrates the culture and techniques of the Celtic oral tradition at the Glendale Gathering from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th May 2008.
More...Highlands
The Mey Selections brand has now been enhanced by a special range of tweeds designed and manufactured by world leading textiles and cashmere producers, Johnstons of Elgin, and developed in conjunction with HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay.
More...Highlands | Outer Hebrides
Ord House on the west coast of the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye has been awarded five stars following an assessment under Visit Scotland's Quality Assurance Scheme.
More...Highlands | Outer Hebrides
The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC)has just launched a new consumer marketing website to welcome visitors to Scotland and promote the freedom, independence and authenticity of self-catering holidays with a new look brand for the start of the 2008 season.
More...Highlands | Outer Hebrides
A series of five new journeys into the heart of the Gaelic world have been launched.
More...Highlands | Outer Hebrides
Highlands & Islands Fire & Rescue Service now employs a Bi-Lingual Community Safety Advocate. One of the main aspects of this role is to promote fire safety in the workplace and homes of migrant workers.
More...Highlands | Outer Hebrides
Scottish people with a passion for picnics are being encouraged to vote for their favourite picnic spot in this year’s Warburtons Picnic Awards.
More...Orkney
Influential tourism buyers from the USA visited Orkney last week, as part of a major tourism drive to position the islands as a must visit destination for consumers from emerging tourism markets.
More...Orkney
An additional milestone was laid in place within the historic time trail that marks the passage towards Skara Brae celebrating a famous Russian cosmonaut.
More...Orkney
A quick round up of the latest marketing opportunities from VisitOrkney's Business Relationship Manager Lee Seator:
More...Orkney
Three Orkney tourism businesses received a ‘Hospitality Assured’ award at a recent lunch held in WHERE, hosted by Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
More...Orkney
Two music festivals are due to hit the right notes in April and May.
More...Orkney
Highlands & Islands Enterprise, in partnership with the Scottish Tourism Forum and VisitScotland, bring a workshop, designed specifically for people involved in the tourist industry, to Orkney.
More...Orkney
VisitOrkney moved to new premises on Castle St, Kirkwall, on Friday 4th April, where the team of staff are now based, alongside staff who look after the bus station housed in the same building.
More...Outer Hebrides
The 2008 Who Cares Wins Awards were held yesterday on the 26th March, celebrating the very best in the service sector throughout the Outer Hebrides and recognise the businesses who have achieved Hospitality Assured in the past year.
More...Outer Hebrides
James Kennedy from VisitScotland.com will be touring the Outer Hebrides between 29th April - 1st May to showcase the new www.visitscotland.com website and Web in a Box, giving all Tourism businesses in the region an opportunity to find out how best to maximise their listing and increase the number of visitors to their business.
More...Outer Hebrides
Thousands of potential visitors from North America have been given the chance to ‘win a Scottish island’ as part of VisitScotland’s Scotland in Toronto and Scotland Week celebrations.
More...Shetland
Influential tourism buyers from Germany and the Netherlands visited Shetland last week, as part of a major tourism drive to position the islands as a must-visit destination for consumers from emerging tourism markets.
More...Shetland
The Shetland Museum and Archives is amongst four UK museums to have made the short list for the Art Fund Prize for museums and galleries 2008, it was announced last week.
More...Shetland
Organisers of Shetland’s first ever Festival of Nature are calling on local businesses to come on board and get involved by offering trips, tours, arts and crafts, and workshops to feature in an exciting programme of events planned for this summer.
More...Shetland
The UK's most northerly folk festival returns in its 28th year from 1-4 May 2008.
More...General
Tourism businesses and young entrepreneurs are being encouraged to put themselves forward for the 2008 Scottish Thistle Awards.
More...General
Ancestry is one of the main themes of the project and one way for businesses to benefit is to join the Ancestral Welcome scheme.
More...General
VisitScotland has been active in terms of international marketing with travel shows in Spain and Norway as well as reporting the results of the European cities campaign.
More...General
1,569 interviews were carried out on golf courses in Scotland last year to provide information for the Scottish National Golf Tourism Monitor, just one of the new areas of information published on the site.
More...General
One hundred representatives from Scotland’s tourism industry will gather at a reception today (Tuesday) to officially welcome the new national tourism website, VisitScotland.com.
More...General
Scots top the charts when it comes to learning foreign languages, according to a survey commissioned by language learning specialists, Rosetta Stone.
More...General
Stay ahead of what’s happening in your area and you can pass on information to your visitors about events they can experience.
More...General
Businesses are reminded that, after having received your marketing opportunities information by post or email, you have the option to browse them online.
More...Sustainable Tourism
Four businesses have been recognised by the Green Tourism Business Scheme as Best Performers for 2007.
More...
