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Seeing is believing
A MAJOR campaign to promote the South of Scotland as a holiday destination is celebrating a successful first year, reaching a potential audience of more than 183 million people around the world.
See South Scotland was launched by VisitScotland in October 2018, to market the whole of the South of Scotland as a tourist destination across its global digital channels for the very first time.
The campaign has targeted potential leisure visitors from the UK and Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands, encouraging them to visit the South of Scotland as the main reason for their visit to Scotland. Activity has been coordinated across the national tourism organisation’s channels, from the development of new online content, the creation of new partnerships and digital marketing campaigns to press trips and social media.
Some of the key highlights of the last year include:
· See South Scotland video content has achieved 5.1million views
· Eight press trips from international journalists led to 47 items of coverage and reaching a potential 177.7 million people worldwide
· A regional social media takeover on VisitScotland’s consumer channels reached 3.3 million people
· Eight businesses from the Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway attended the European Business Development Mission to Amsterdam in October 2018. In addition, four businesses attended VisitScotland Expo 2019 and 56 buyers from 11 countries visited the South of Scotland
· 25,000 direct mails packs were issued to households in the north of England and London and more than 691,000 emails were issued across the UK and European markets
· 32 new pages of content has been developed, including the campaign landing page visitscotland.com/seesouthscotland, as well as 448 new images and 22 new videos for use across VisitScotland’ consumer channels
· Partnership marketing campaigns were established with i-on magazine, P&O Ferries and Forestry and Land Scotland
The success of the first year of the campaign has been highlighted as VisitScotland Chief Executive Malcolm Roughead visited the Scottish Borders as part of an annual Listening Tour of the country.
He met with senior leaders from Scottish Borders Council and representatives from Visit Berwickshire, Visit Kelso, Newcastleton Development Forum, MBTAG and Scottish Borders Tourism Ltd at Schloss Roxburghe before visiting the newly completed path network at the Eildon Hills, which was funded through the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Forum.
He then visited Thirlestane Castle, near Lauder, which has recently opened new luxury accommodation and event space following a major restoration. It was also one of the eight businesses to attend the Business Development Mission as part of the See South Scotland campaign.
VisitScotland Chief Executive Malcolm Roughead said“The first year of the See South Scotland campaign has been a major success and has helped promote the wealth of fantastic experiences on offer across the South of Scotland to European markets for the very first time.
“Tourism is at the very heart of economic success in the Scottish Borders – it is vital to the Scottish economy, reaching every corner of the country, creating jobs and bringing economic and social change. The Scottish Borders as a total quality destination relies on continued investment and innovation to ensure that current provision meets future demand.”Edward Maitland-Carew whose family home is Thirlestane Castle said:“We were honoured to represent the region at VisitScotland’s European Business Development in Amsterdam last year and have already been able to host many visitors from Europe as a direct result of our meetings with travel firms at the BDM. We are looking forward to joining VisitScotland on another BDM next week, this time to expand our contacts in North America. We are passionate about putting the South of Scotland at the forefront of traveller’s minds when they are considering visiting our diverse and amazing country.” Louise Law, Head of Commercial Operations at McMillan Hotels, said:“After just a few appointments, it became apparent that operators were looking for ‘something different’ and this makes Dumfries & Galloway an ideal choice. I had the chance to explain that Dumfries & Galloway is a superb option for tourists wishing to experience Scotland without the chaos of the oversubscribed honeypots. The festivals and events taking place were of interest too e.g., Stranraer Oyster Festival, North West Castle Jazz Festival, not forgetting the great food and drink offering. The SWC300 appealed to the agents, being something new. I’ve had enquiries from agents who are working on itineraries to bring groups to our hotels and to spend time in Dumfries & Galloway. These are agents that I have since met at Visit Scotland Expo and who have been on FAM visits to our hotels. I am optimistic that there will be other successes as a result of these introductions.”For more information on See South Scotland, go to visitscotland.com/seesouthscotland
For more information on Thirlestane Castle, visit: www.thirlestanecastle.co.uk
Seeing is believing
Tourism campaign celebrates successful first year