East Lothian to the fore

East Lothian’s strong reputation as a world class golf destination is being showcased this week as the abrdn Scottish Open gets underway at The Renaissance Club. (Thursday8 July).

The venue is hosting the prestigious Rolex series event for the third consecutive year, one of the key dates in the golfing calendar the week before The Open.  The 2021 abrdn Scottish Open has attracted some of the leading players in the sport, featuring the strongest player field in the history of the event, with 5 of the world’s top 10 players on show this week.

The event coincides with VisitScotland’s Now is Your Time marketing campaign, encouraging Scots to explore the many acclaimed destinations and locations that bring visitors from all over the world to Scotland’s shores. East Lothian, known as Scotland’s Golf Coast, is a regular host of championship golf with Gullane also staging the Scottish Open twice. Visitors are invited to try any of the 21 courses on offer in the region, many set on stunning coastline with spectacular views of the Firth of Forth, to suit any budget and ability level of golfer.

As well as being broadcast to a global audience, the abrdn Scottish Open is the first time golf fans in Scotland can watch the game’s biggest names in person at a European Tour event since the pandemic. Limited numbers of spectators are expected to be in attendance on each of the four tournament days (Thursday-Sunday), with strict COVID mitigations in place to protect both the local community and the viability of the tournament. 

The abrdn Scottish Open is part of the Scottish Government’s Gateway events programme to help demonstrate that Scotland can host for internationally significant events and provide valuable learning opportunities ahead of the full return of events.

The economic value of golf tourism to East Lothian is around £20 million (excluding hosting events) and supports over 600 jobs.

For more information go to:

https://www.visitscotland.com/destinations-maps/edinburgh-lothians/ 

https://www.visitscotland.org/binaries/content/assets/dot-org/pdf/research-papers/golf-east-lothian-2016.pdf 

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