VisitScotland eUpdate - July edition 2006
Welcome to the July edition of the VisitScotland Industry eUpdate. We hope you find this newsletter interesting and relevant. Please contact us if you’d like to hear more about any of our marketing activities or business opportunities.
14/07/2006
The North East Scotland Tourism Partnership (NESTOUR) would like to invite comments from partners, stakeholders, tourism groups, community and business associations, tourism businesses and individuals on its new tourism strategy for the area. More...14/07/2006
Time is quickly running out for tourism businesses wishing to take advantage of VisitScotland’s Marketing Opportunities for 2006-07. More...14/07/2006
Tourism businesses across Aberdeen and Grampian have their chance to shine by entering this year’s Northern Lights Tourism Awards. More...14/07/2006
Visitors to the north-east are being encouraged to ‘Get Active’ during their stay, as part of VisitScotland Aberdeen and Grampian’s latest marketing campaign. More...14/07/2006
Aberdeen and Grampian tourism businesses are being urged to take advantage of the marketing opportunities available to them through VisitScotland’s Challenge Fund. More...14/07/2006
Tourism businesses in Aberdeen and Grampian have the opportunity to experience a brand new training programme with a number of 2 day ‘taster’ courses over the summer months. More...14/07/2006
Time is running out for tourism businesses to take advantage of VisitScotland’s Marketing Opportunities for 2006-07. More...14/07/2006
Orkney tourism businesses are being urged to take advantage of the marketing opportunities available to them through VisitScotland’s Challenge Fund. More...14/07/2006
Images of Shetland have been beamed to an audience of more than 10 million Australian viewers when the country’s number one travel programme ‘Getaway’ aired this month. More...14/07/2006
Italian TV channel Marcopolo TV were filming in Unst and Out Skerries this month as part of its latest documentary series. More...14/07/2006
Time is quickly running out for Shetland tourism businesses to take advantage of VisitScotland’s Marketing Opportunities for 2006-07. More...14/07/2006
Shetland tourism businesses are being urged to take advantage of the marketing opportunities available to them through VisitScotland’s Challenge Fund. More...14/07/2006
A new cross-Cairngorms National Park bus service, the “Heather Hopper” is now up and running for the summer. More...18/07/2006
VisitScotland.com - the national tourism booking and information service - has signed a strategic partnership agreement with the world’s leading provider of tourist website technology. More...18/07/2006
VisitScotland's Exhibitions & Promotions Directory 2006/07 is now available. This publication details the range of events, exhibitions, trade fairs and promotions that are available for industry to buy into to promote their business both in the UK and overseas. More...18/07/2006
The deadline is fast approaching for booking your advertisement in this quality guide that is published as usual in English, French, Italian, Spanish. More...18/07/2006
The planned cut off date for receiving applications within the 2006 Quality Assurance scheme has been set for Friday 28th July. More...18/07/2006
New research, showing that UK residents took around 14 million trips to Scotland and spent £3 billion in 2005, has just been published. More...18/07/2006
VisitScotland hopes to attract more visitors to Scotland to visit the country’s range of public gardens through a new website. More...18/07/2006
Kelvingrove, the Mackintosh Festival and shopping are the key messages in VisitScotland’s latest marketing push for Glasgow, in the form of a four-item mailer issued in June to 25,000 UK consumers. More...18/07/2006
A £100 million programme of improvements to Glasgow’s St Enoch Centre could be underway within three months, if new plans backed by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce are approved by the City Council. More...18/07/2006
The Da Vinci Code phenomena continues this week as 140 competition winners from around the world descend on Scotland, as part of a unique competition VisitScotland is running in conjunction with Sony Pictures. More...18/07/2006
Launched in December 2005, the number of participants in VisitScotland’s Children Welcome Scheme has risen to over 50. More...18/07/2006
Glasgow City Council has given the green light for the £62 million Scotland’s National Arena to be built at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, further strengthening the city’s bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2014. More...18/07/2006
Visitors to Glasgow tourist information centre can now have a new perspective on the city thanks to a new free map highlighting the key medieval sites. More...18/07/2006
These are just a few of the key events in the area in the coming weeks. More...18/07/2006
Britain’s first ever Swamp Soccer tournament, held in Dunoon on 1 and 2 July, has been proclaimed a resounding success and organisers have confirmed that the event will return to Dunoon in 2007. More...18/07/2006
The keenly anticipated new £3.8 million aquarium attraction at Loch Lomond Shores opened its doors earlier this month, welcoming 800 visitors in its first half-day. More...18/07/2006
Stirling’s city centre pubs, bars and nightclubs now have the opportunity to become part of the UK’s largest accreditation scheme for licensed premises, ‘Best Bar None’. More...18/07/2006
VisitScotland has a new Area Director for Argyll, Loch Lomond & Forth Valley this week, in Iain Close. More...18/07/2006
This is a selection of events taking place in Argyll, Loch Lomond and Forth Valley in the coming weeks. More...19/07/2006
One of Stirling’s most prominent Georgian buildings, the former Bank of Scotland on Upper Craigs, is now open for business as the city’s first boutique hotel, OSTA Stirling. More...19/07/2006
Your input is important. Find out how you can comment on the final drafts of the Strategy and the Action Plan. More...19/07/2006
The Fife Tourism Challenge is a new initiative which is being developed by the Fife Tourism Alliance in association with Careers Scotland, Springboard and Fife Council, and which aims to raise awareness of the importance of the tourism industry and to encourage school pupils to consider the tourism and hospitality sectors as a career option. More...19/07/2006
As part of the preparations for the inaugural Scottish Classic Speedfair, former Formula One World Champion, Sir Jackie Stewart, was at Knockill Racing Circuit on Thursday 20th July to promote the event. More...19/07/2006
Angus & Dundee Area Tourism Partnership has allocated a total of £120,000 to five tourism projects over the next two years. More...19/07/2006
Kirkcaldy tourist information centre, located within The Merchant’s House, will be running a series of tours in and around the oldest house in Kirkcaldy during the summer season. More...19/07/2006
This week sees the opening of a new tourist information partnership in Wick. More...19/07/2006
Images of St Andrews and the East Neuk of Fife were beamed to an audience of more than 10 million Australian viewers when the country’s number one travel programme ‘Getaway’ was aired on Thursday (20 July). More...19/07/2006
We're currently testing a new events bulletin format in the Highlands, to enable tourism businesses to provide information to their visitors. More...19/07/2006
A new website catering for our business visitors has just been launched. More...19/07/2006
EatScotland is VisitScotland’s national food and drink quality assurance scheme. More...19/07/2006
Scone Palace, the Crowning Place of Scotland’s Kings, has been given the thumbs up by Britain’s longest running radio soap opera 'The Archers'. More...19/07/2006
Local authorities in Angus and the City of Dundee have joined forces in a bid to attract tourists from across the world to come to the area and walk in the footsteps of their ancestors. More...19/07/2006
The Dublin based band "The Commitments" from the BAFTA award winning film of the same name are to play live at Perth Racecourse on Tuesday 1st August 2006. More...19/07/2006
Are you unsure how to access appropriate training, both for you and your staff? Learningworks could be your answer. More...19/07/2006
Scone Palace is to host a Festival of Orchids from 5th – 6th August 2006. The festival will include displays by six of the UK's top orchid nurseries and suppliers, as well as talks and demonstrations on the art of orchid - growing, competitions, and orchids for sale. More...19/07/2006
The Blair Castle Horse Trials is celebrating a major new sponsor for it's prestigious Country Fair and organisers Atholl Estates are delighted to announce that it's a local Perthshire company. More...19/07/2006
An up-date from local business marketing group, Skye & Lochalsh Marketing Ltd, which has recently re-launched the area's leading website. More...19/07/2006
Eating out is a key component of any trip and food and drink activities currently account for 22% of total tourist spend in Scotland. Given the importance of this sector, VisitScotland is embarking on a number of initiatives so that food and drink is recognised as a distinct and entirely positive part of the Scottish tourism product. More...19/07/2006
There is another booking scam doing the rounds, this time a bit more elaborate than most. Please read on for more details. More...19/07/2006
The Forth Bridges TIC presently occupies part of the ground floor of the Queensferry Lodge Hotel, North Queensferry. The hotel was built approximately 16 years ago and a TIC facility has been part of the hotel for all of that time. The former Kingdom of Fife Tourist Board entered a 10 year lease with the then owners (Regal Hotels) in July 1996 to operate the Tourist Information Centre at that site. More...19/07/2006
VisitScotland Fife, in partnership with St Andrews Links Trust, has today officially launched the St Andrews ‘Old Course Off Peak’ package at the state of the art St Andrews Links Golf Academy. More...19/07/2006
The Kingdom of Fife is home to a number of major events which will have thousands of visitors flocking to Fife this summer with a wide variety to suit all. More...19/07/2006
For a full list of events in the Outer Hebrides during August, please read on. More...19/07/2006
The variety of seafood on offer in and around the East Neuk of Fife is once again at the centre of an initiative aimed at attracting visitors to Fife through the celebration of Seafood. More...19/07/2006
If you are looking for ways to extend the tourist season, then this event may be of interest to you. It is aimed at anyone who is a frontline tourism operator, keen to attract visiting watersports enthusiasts. More...19/07/2006
Many of you will be aware that we have been reviewing all the information and sales activities around the network. In response to suggestions made by accommodation providers around the country for an electronic 'what’s on' guide, we want to trial this in Fife. More...19/07/2006
There have been recent reports in the media and from some businesses in the tourism industry about outbreaks of Norovirus (also known by other names including Winter Vomiting Disease). More...19/07/2006
Following last week's accident, the team at Nevis Range has issued the following message to local tourism businesses. More...19/07/2006
The Heather Hopper bus service, linking Strathspey with Strathdon and Deeside made a welcome return at the beginning of July. More...20/07/2006
Following the recent fire, it’s business as usual at the serpentarium. More...20/07/2006
The Crofting Life Visitor Centre has now opened at Lochaber Rural Complex. More...20/07/2006
Drumchork Hotel has been granted the first private distillery licence for 190 years. More...20/07/2006
We are making progress in implementing some of the ideas which emerged from last year’s visitor research to improve the information and sales network. More...20/07/2006
The team at Brodick Tourist Information Centre (TIC) has tripled in size in time for the summer season. Robbie McConnell welcomes Colleen Middleton, Alasdair Kelly, Harriette Arthur and Leanne Judge to the team as they prepare to provide information to tourists visiting Arran over the coming months. More...20/07/2006
Future Museum South-West is a creative web-based collaboration between the museum services of the South-West of Scotland. It aims to maximise access to our collections and deepen people’s understanding of the region's rich history. More...20/07/2006
Largs is a beautiful Scottish seaside west coast town, on the Firth of Clyde in Ayrshire and recently became a hot spot for filming. More...20/07/2006
As with previous years, Scottish Golf SouthWest will be attending tournaments at home and abroad over the summer. More...20/07/2006
A major cycle rally, the Kirkpatrick Macmillan CTC Birthday Rides, will be held in Dumfries from 29 July – 5 August 2006. Based at Dumfries and Galloway College, around 400 to 600 cyclists are expected to attend the rally, providing a significant boost for the local economy. More...20/07/2006
As Lochcarron of Galashiels will be vacating its premises in the coming days/weeks, this has meant that the tourist information point currently housed in Lochcarron also has to be re-located. More...20/07/2006
VisitScotland Borders are pleased to announce the first heat winner in this year’s VisitScotland Borders Best Borderer competition; Jane Currie from Denholm More...20/07/2006
To help keep children occupied this summer VisitScotland Borders recently launched its summer ‘kids campaign’ identifying child friendly attractions and tourism businesses in the Scottish Borders. More...20/07/2006
Primary five pupils from Earlston Primary School were treated to a special day out at Historic Scotland’s Jedburgh Abbey recently, thanks to the current Junior Brain of the Borders, Zara Retallick. More...20/07/2006
The RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park 2006 took place on 19-23 July 2006 and VisitScotland Dumfries were there to entice visitors to come up and visit the wonderful gardens available there. More...20/07/2006
For the first time Edinburgh’s summer Festivals will be creating their own quality footage with a successful funding award from VisitScotland’s Challenge Fund. More...20/07/2006
VisitScotland teamed up with Virgin Radio earlier this month to showcase Edinburgh during a live broadcast from Edinburgh Castle on Friday 7 July. More...20/07/2006
If you would like to have your business featured in next year’s Accommodation Guide for Edinburgh and Lothians and have not already returned your Marketing Opportunities forms, now is your chance. More...20/07/2006
The Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick is one of just four Lottery-funded projects chosen by a panel of high profile judges to go head to head in a public vote to be crowned Scotland’s National Lottery Project of the year. More...20/07/2006
The Scottish Seabird centre had another reason to celebrate recently when TV naturalist David Bellamy opened the centre’s latest exhibit. More...20/07/2006
Coast to Coast Surf School in Dunbar has teamed up with a fully qualified yoga teacher to offer a yoga course specifically orientated to improving flexibility for surfing. More...20/07/2006
Beecraigs Country Park has pipped hundreds of Scottish beauty spots to be named as one of Britain’s favourite picnic areas. More...20/07/2006
The Museum of Flight at East Fortune, East Lothian is celebrating after achieving coveted Four Star visitor attraction status from VisitScotland. More...20/07/2006
The new edition of the Scotland Now ezine is out now. More...20/07/2006
A new, five-star quality hostel is opening in Edinburgh at the end of July. The fantastic, purpose-built Smart City Hostel will offer guests all they’d expect from a hotel but at hostel prices. More...20/07/2006
The new Discover Lothians leaflets for Midlothian and West Lothian will be hitting the shelves from the end of July. More...20/07/2006
UK Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell recently launched the widest ever consultation of the industry industry and cited the 2012 Olympics as a “unique opportunity” for tourism More...21/07/2006
Recent figures released show over a million foreign visitors came to Edinburgh in 2005 and that Glasgow was once again named in the top five most visited cities and towns in the UK. More...24/07/2006
VisitScotland has teamed up with the National Trust for Scotland, Royal Botanic Gardens, Peebles; Cambo Estate, Fife; and Floors Castle, Kelso; to introduce Scotland’s first ever National Snowdrop Festival. More...24/07/2006
A new families web site has been launched, to tie in with the Highland Spring promotional campaign. More... | 
