Straight from the heart

A new campaign will promote the rich culture, traditions and language of Scottish Gaelic to showcase the Outer Hebrides as a visitor destination with the help of VisitScotland.

The Outer Hebrides is the heart of Gaelic Scotland, with 50-70% of the local community speaking the language as part of their daily life on the crofts, boats, schools and shops of the islands.  The campaign aims to use the language and its traditions to attract visitors from across the UK to come and experience the cultural offering of the islands.

Using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, a series of short videos will be created where BBC Alba’s Calum Maclean interviews islanders in their own language about how Gaelic embodies island life and highlighting where visitors can go to get a taste of the islands’ Gaelic language, culture and traditions. The videos will be filmed in Gaelic and are designed to be accessible for everyone, providing visitors with the opportunity to learn more about the language and some useful phrases.

Influencers will be invited to the islands to learn about the language, its traditions and the experiences available across the region. They will document their time on the islands by producing engaging content in Gaelic which will allow visitors to learn more about the language and the Outer Hebrides in an innovative and accessible way.

The videos and influencer activity will be supported by a digital eBook containing rich visual and audio content to allow visitors to learn more about Gaelic music, Harris Tweed, the medieval Kingdom of the Isles, and crofting. The eBook will provide details on the places they can visit to experience Gaelic traditions and hear the language, including Commun Eachdraidh Nis, or Ness Historical Society, which has a museum and archives that tell the story of the local culture and language.

By acknowledging its importance and increasing awareness and use of Gaelic within the tourism industry, the campaign supports the National Gaelic Language Plan and the Gaelic Tourism Strategy. 

Almost 70% of businesses consulted in the Highlands and Islands Enterprise report, Ar Stòras Gàidhlig, in 2014 said that Gaelic is an asset to their business. It also stated the potential economic value of Gaelic as an asset to the Scottish economy could be between £82m and £149m.

To access the campaign’s first video, visit https://youtu.be/D1QUUOc1rhM 

For more information about the campaign go to www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk/gaelic   

For more information about VisitScotland Growth Fund, go to www.visitscotland.org/supporting-your-business/funding/growth-fund