VisitScotland eUpdate - december 2005
Photo: Luskentyre Beach, Isle of Harris
Welcome to the latest VisitScotland eUpdate, giving you an overview of VisitScotland's current activities.
This month:
The Right Staff
Scottish Enterprise and Springboard Scotland are
launching The Right Staff handbook and running a series of workshops devised
to help you get - and keep - the right staff.
Whether hotel, guest house or B&B, restaurant, bar or visitor attraction,
if your business employs full or part time staff within the tourism or
hospitality sector, this one day workshop is for you. You can expect a
day designed to stimulate and encourage you to think outside the box and
have some fun in the process. Through active learning and group work,
you'll discover dynamic resources that will challenge the way you think
about business solutions.
You will receive a complimentary copy of The Right Staff handbook to take
back to your business and share with your team. Packed with key information,
essential check lists, handy resources and exercises that build on the
skills you will have gained at the workshop, The Right Staff will keep
on working; providing even more insight on how to inspire, motivate and
succeed.
More information click here
World Travel Award Winners
There were notable Scottish winners in the recent World Travel Awards. The Balmoral in Edinburgh came out tops in the Scotland's Leading Hotel category and Inverlochy Castle near Fort William won Scotland's Leading Castle. The Old Course Hotel in St Andrews did extremely well as it not only won World's Leading Golf Resort Award, it was also named Scotland's Leading Resort, Golf Resort, and Spa Resort!
Another significant winner was East Lothian's Winton House which won Scotland's Leading Private Castle category.
Voting for the World Travel Awards is carried out
annually by travel agents all around the world. Next year's Awards ceremony
will be held in the Turks & Caicos islands on 20 September 2006.
Further information: www.worldtravelawards.com
VisitBritain Youth Conference - 16 March 2006
Now in its third successive year, the VisitBritain
Youth Conference will bring together key trade partners in the youth tourism
industry from the UK and overseas at the New Connaught Rooms in London.
The event will offer B2B appointments, workshops, a range of presentations
from high-profile speakers and an evening networking reception aboard
Bateaux London's "Symphony" boat.
The event has established itself as a must attend forum on the tourism
calendar and 2006 promises to be no exception. Speakers are soon to be
announced on the conference web site.
Sign up before January 31st to benefit from Early Bird rates and keep
yourself up to speed by checking the regularly updated website.
For further information contact Amy Crees at: amy.crees@visitbritain.org
Tourism Innovation Day 2006
Plans are now under way for Tourism Innovation
Day 2006, taking place on Tuesday 28 March at the fabulous new Perth Concert
Hall. Set to be the most innovative and talked about tourism event of
the year, with an exciting line-up of speakers from across the globe.
Contact: info@tourisminnovation.com
back to top
A Big Welcome for Little Visitors to Scotland!
Our smallest visitors were given a huge welcome at Crieff Hydro to mark the launch of a new VisitScotland Quality & Standards welcome scheme aimed at families holidaying in Scotland. The scheme aims to provide a guaranteed level of additional facilities and services and is available to all Quality Assured tourism businesses. With the help of Santa, the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport Patricia Ferguson launched the new Children Welcome Scheme, by presenting children holidaying at the hotel with their own teddy bear.
With UK families spending more than £130 million in Scotland each year, the Quality & Standards department has introduced the scheme which recognises special efforts made by tourism businesses to provide for these visitors. (United Kingdom Tourism Survey 2002. Family holiday market in Scotland - with under 16s on trip).
The Crieff Hydro, where the launch was held, is one of twenty businesses already involved in the scheme, and their £2.8million plan for a new children's club, was also unveiled at the event.
For more information, contact: QAdevelopment@visitscotland.com
Anglers Welcome scheme
The initial Anglers Welcome Workshop was held at the East Haugh Hotel, Pitlochry on the 6th December. The one-day course has been developed by Inverness College in conjunction with Tourist Board Training, and is funded partly by VisitScotland Quality and Standards. The course aims to encourage an awareness of Specialist marketing and the resources in the local area, as well as aiming to provide the correct specialist facilities and services for Anglers, in both accommodation and support areas. The workshop includes a base knowledge of the types of fishing available in Scotland, as well as suggesting ideas to WOW visitors at all stages. The content can be easily tailored to suit the area with emphasise placed on sea, coarse or game angling.
Specifically for accommodation providers is the Anglers Welcome scheme which has been developed by Quality and Standards to reward those businesses who embrace the Angling market and go the extra mile to provide the additional facilities required. The scheme has been developed along with the trade with input from a selection of Angling Hotels and businesses. Currently 15 businesses have signed up for the award with plenty of interest from throughout the country.
For more information, contact QAdevelopment@visitscotland.com
Scenario Planning - Future Lectures and Newsletter
A series of Future lectures have been organised by the Scenario Planning section of VisitScotland. A range of speakers including futurologists, university professors and industry leaders will talk about the future. The Lecture programme is open to all in the tourism industry.
The 3rd edition of Tomorrow's World, VisitScotland's Scenario Planning newsletter, featuring a paper by Dr Yeoman on the impact of climate change on tourism in Scotland, is now available for download here.
ABERDEEN AND GRAMPIAN
Aberdeen City and Shire - A Brighter Outlook
The new regional identity for the North East of Scotland, Aberdeen City and Shire - A Brighter Outlook, has been formally launched.
The new brand aims to give businesses and the public sector a major platform to promote the region to local, national and international audiences. The Regional Identity Initiative further aims to provide a more joined up approach to the branding of the region in order to address low awareness, lack of understanding and perceived remoteness of Aberdeen City and Shire, and has already received widespread support from the local business community.
Local Businesses Shine At Awards
The winners of the 2005 Northern Lights Awards were announced at the North East Scotland Tourism Conference, held on Wednesday 23 November at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.
Open to individuals, communities and businesses from Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray, the awards recognise and celebrate excellence in the tourism industry. The awards themselves have also helped to raise the profile of the high quality tourism products and initiatives in the North East since their introduction in 2003.
The winners were:
Come To Aberdeen Trophy: sponsored by Aberdeen
City Council
Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family History Society
Community-led Initiative - Aberdeenshire: sponsored
by Aberdeenshire Council
Scottish Traditional Boat Festival, Portsoy
Moray Tourism Initiative: sponsored by The Moray
Council
The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival
Customer Service: sponsored by HIE Moray
Kingscliff Sporting Lodge, near Methlick
Food and Drink Award: sponsored by EatScotland
Eat on the Green, Udny Green
Visitor Experience: sponsored by VisitScotland
- Aberdeen and Grampian
Milton of Grange Farmhouse B&B, near Forres
Outstanding Achievement to Tourism
Stewart Spence, Marcliffe at Pitfodels
New Publications
VisitScotland - Aberdeen and Grampian's principal publication, the Holiday Guide and Leisure Breaks 2006, is now available. Organised around the key themes of Freedom, Active and City Breaks, it features a comprehensive listing of accommodation in the area and highlights the North East's unique geographical features, attractions and events.
Also available is the Winter Opening Times 2005-06 brochure. Published by VisitScotland - Aberdeen and Grampian in response to concern that a number of attractions close for the winter and there is consequently less for our visitors to see and do, the leaflet seeks to support those establishments able to offer facilities for visitors throughout the year.
Finally, the Malt Whisky Trail 2006 brochure will be officially launched in the New Year. The only malt whisky trail in the world, the trail features eight distilleries and a cooperage and has proved to be a huge success in attracting visitors to the Moray area.
For a copy of any of these brochures, please contact 01224 288828.
BORDERS
Record Turnout at Scottish Borders Tourism Forum
Tuesday 29 November saw the first Scottish Borders Tourism Forum Meeting which replaces the Scottish Borders Tourist Board AGM with a record number of tourism businesses in attendance. Attendees heard about highlights from tourism in the Scottish Borders in 2005, as well as news from visitscotland.com, advice on good use of your website, the benefits of working together and looking forward to 2006.
A Scottish Borders Tourism Action Plan is being created for the Scottish Borders in order to increase tourism by 50% in the next 10 years. Professor John Lennon from the Moffat Centre, Glasgow Caledonian University is leading on the project and gave feedback on his findings thus far. John said, "The Scottish Borders has some of Scotland's most enthusiastic and innovative operators. Combine this kind of enthusiasm with outstanding scenery, classic heritage and world class activities and you have a very strong product".
Earlston Pupil is Junior Brain of the Borders
Zara Retallick (9) from Earlston Primary School
was crowned Junior Brain of the Borders 2005 at the Grand Final of VisitScotland
Borders' annual schools competition. The contest, which is sponsored by
Historic Scotland, is now in its seventh year and aims to encourage local
children and their families to find out more about the Borders, to visit
its many attractions and to invite friends and relatives to come to the
area. It is open to all Primary Five pupils in the Borders region with
the six top contestants qualifying for the Final following initial heats
held in participating schools.
EDINBURGH AND LOTHIANS
VisitScotland Area Director Visits Midlothian
Ben Carter, Area Director for VisitScotland Edinburgh visited Midlothian Council recently to discuss future plans for the area's tourism. Ben met with Provost Sam Campbell and senior Council officers responsible for developing tourism; which is one of Midlothian's fastest growing sectors. Topics for discussion included Midlothian's Tourism Action Plan; the Midlothian Tourism Forum; local tourism projects; the VisitScotland Area Tourism Partnership and core funding to VisitScotland.
History Channel press trip
The History Channel History Stopover programme will film in Edinburgh in December 2005. The History Channel airs around the world - reaching more than 200 million households. The half hour programme will feature a tour of Edinburgh, showing the highlights of historical monuments, as well as less well known locations. The filming will include: Edinburgh Castle, Royal Yacht Britannia, Geoffrey (Tailor) Tartan Weaving Mill, Whisky Heritage Centre, Palace of Holyroodhouse and Mary King's Close.
Capital Investment
Last year more than £2m was invested in promoting Edinburgh - this year more than £2.6m will be invested
We expect the strongest international market growth in 2006 to come from Canada, USA, Ireland, Spain and Sweden. The presence of direct links in these markets facilitates growth. These countries have forecasted strong GDP growth. The Euro currency will be favourable for inbound tourism in 2006, but the continued weak economies in Germany, France and Holland will be dampen demand. Although we expect 2-3% growth in these markets, this will be arrivals rather than spend.
COMING UP IN 2006
Accommodation Guide
The Accommodation Guide will be launched in early January 2006. Translated into five languages: French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, they will be distributed via the TICs, London office, consumer and trade exhibitions, enquiries to the contact centre and bulk supplies to trade/events. The overseas versions are largely distributed via VisitBritain and overseas exhibitions.
Dine around
Some of Edinburgh's finest restaurants are taking
part in Edinburgh's annual dining extravaganza, Dine Around Edinburgh
2006. From Sunday 8th January until Sunday 5th February, twenty eight
restaurants and bistros across the city will be offering £15 fixed-price
set menus.
It's the perfect opportunity to try a new restaurant or revisit an old
favourite at an added-value January price. For more details click here.
Contact info: ewan.fairweather@visitscotland.com
SHETLAND AND ORKNEY
Shetland launches new look brochure
The most northerly part of the VisitScotland network has officially launched its new guide.
With the strapline "Make a Break for It", the VisitShetland 2006 Guide represents a more modern style and features the recently launched brand "Pride of Place".
The website www.visitshetland.com has also been updated to tie in with the new look brochure, and will include a tourist radio, web cams and a soon-to-be-launched online shop.
London link for Shetland
Shetland is to benefit from a direct air link to London next summer.
Following support from the Scottish Executive's Route Development Fund, Faroese airline Atlantic Airways has announced that it will operate a summer schedule twice-weekly flight between the Faroe Islands, Sumburgh and London Stansted.
The new service will create a host of tourism and business opportunities for the northern isles by opening up the south of England, through onward travel to Iceland, Greenland and Copenhagen, and by strengthening existing links with Faroe.
For more details see www.flyshetland.com
Less than a 100 days to Smoking Ban
On 26th March 2006 a ban on smoking in public places
in Scotland will come into force. This follows a consultation process
and the resultant drafting and then passing into law of the Smoking, Health
and Social Care (Scotland) Bill.
To help ensure that your business is ready to meet the requirements of
the new legislation, the Scottish Executive has sent out guidance to all
businesses in Scotland. For more information: www.clearingtheairscotland.com
which contains other information on the implications of the legislation,
as well as case studies of businesses that have already adopted smoke-free
policies.
Information and Sales - a strategy for the future
As part of our review of all aspects of current information and sales activities, we have carried out extensive research among customers, tourism business owners and trade associations. We have also looked at how businesses in other sectors, such as banking, manage customer service and make best use of technology. All these findings are available on Scotexchange.net\Know Your Market. Research into both Tourist Information Centre partnerships and retail opportunities will be available in early 2006.
The Information and Sales project has three key
phases:
Designing the 'Future Perfect' model - June to December 2005
Transition Planning - January to March 2006
Implementation Programme - April 2006 onwards
We are now working on the transition plan and we will be discussing this with stakeholders from January onwards. We will include progress updates on the project in e-bulletins in 2006. For further information, please email Janice.mack@visitscotland.com
Pride & Passion makes a Dramatic Impact!
In early December, around 280 tourism workers in
the Highlands took part in a series of 14 'theatre workshops' on customer
care. Pride & Passion presented dramatizations of typical scenarios
and demonstrated the importance of perceptions, the 'performance' aspect
that exists in all tourism roles and how we can all make a positive impact
on visitors' experiences.
Drawing audiences from management, owners, front line staff and students,
the events drew high praise and spontaneous 'rave reviews' from participants
for the most part. The innovative and entertaining approach afforded by
the events allowed people to hold a mirror up to themselves in an unthreatening
- though challenging - way. Even though many in each audience would count
themselves among the 'converted' in terms of the need for fantastic service,
the events were felt to provide a useful and timely reminder of the need
to think of things from the customer perspective and to speak to them,
engage them in feedback and interact with them at every opportunity.
A DVD version of the session will be available in late January 2006. This
is designed to be used by groups to conduct similar awareness sessions.
For more information email: team@prideandpassion.net
or call 0800 028 0588. To find out more about the Pride & Passion
movement visit www.prideandpassion.net
Tourism Innovation Group
Interactive Learning
The Tourism Innovation Group helps to foster innovation, new ideas and creativity in Scottish tourism, encouraging the development of new products and services and collaboration between operators. The recent launch of the new Tourism Area Action Groups Interactive Map should encourage collaborative groups to make contact and share best practice and success stories.
For more information:Tig Map. Or contact the TIG office t: 0131 220 6338 or email: info@tourisminnovation.com
Making Scotland a Leading Green Tourism Destination
Can taking a sustainable approach to tourism really
lead to increased business performance?
How is Scotland's capital encouraging visitors to travel in an environmentally
friendly way?
How can businesses save money at a time when energy bills are rising?
The latest edition of the Tourism and Environment Forum's 'Positive Impact' newsletter answers these questions and more! Highlighting sustainable tourism businesses across Scotland, 'Positive Impact' shows how they are contributing to efforts to make Scotland Europe's most sustainable tourism destination. This edition includes green tourism success stories from businesses like the Tourism Business of the Year and this year's Tourism & Environment Thistle Award winner and showcases two green tourism firsts for Scotland, one in Edinburgh and the other in the Cairngorms.
You can download an online version Issue 10 or get a hard copy by emailing: enquiries@greentourism.org.uk
VisitScotland Key Contacts
If you need help or advice on VisitScotland Business Opportunities or Challenge Funding please contact one of our local Business Relationship & Marketing Managers or Business Relationship Managers.
Since the publication of the printed newsletter Ambitions, there have been changes to the list of contacts which is available to print off on ScotExchange, available here.
Quick Search for Self Catering Accommodation
visitscotland.com will shortly release the latest version of its "Quick Search" accommodation search tool. This will include, self catering accommodation providers, which means all accommodation types will be included in the search for first time.
As with the serviced accommodation sector, all search results returned will be shown on the website in the following order.
1. Known Availability & Bookable via visitscotland.com
2. Unknown Availability & Bookable via visitscotland.com
3. Not Bookable via visitscotland.com
Those self catering accommodation providers who have signed up to the Inventory On-line Access (IONA) should immediately update their 2006 seasons and pricing to maximise the booking potential from increased searches.
IONA enables accommodation providers to dynamically update their availability directly onto the visitscotland.com database.
For more information on IONA, please click here or contact the visitscotland.com Allocation Team on 0845-602-3779 or email updates@visitscotland.com
Allocated Rooms, Rates & Availability Network (ARRAN)
visitscotland.com will shortly commence a pilot programme for its latest online service ARRAN - the pilot areas are Oban, Pitlochry and Scottish Borders and will involve 50 serviced accommodation providers.
ARRAN has been developed for small serviced accommodation providers enabling the provider to update their allocated room availability and allocated room rate over the internet.
The pilot itself is due to commence week beginning
9th January 2006 and will run for 6-8 weeks, during which time, visitscotland.com
will work closely with the pilot VisitScotland Network offices and Tourist
Information Centres to provide support and gather feedback from the accommodation
providers in the pilot. visitscotland.com will then evaluate the feedback
from accommodation providers and assess the effectiveness of the support
programme before moving to the next phase of roll out.