Influencers invited to share the love

A new campaign inviting influencers from across the world to stay in an exclusive Inverness location to showcase the local area’s full offering throughout the year has received support from VisitScotland.

The 12-month project aims tospread visitors more widely throughout the destination all year round by highlighting hidden gems and other lesser known places to visit. Influencers from the UK, US, Germany and France will be invited to stay at the River Lodge, part of Ness Castle Lodges in Inverness, where they will have the opportunity to travel around the Inverness and Loch Ness area at their leisure, allowing them to experience the region like a local, enjoying the vast and varied offering.

It is inspired bythe highly successful ‘BlogVille’ project by the Emilia Romagna Tourism Board in Northern Italy. Between 2012 and 2016 they hosted 180 bloggers from five continents in a private apartment, reaching over 18 million people across a variety of online platforms.

The River Lodge will be open for one week in March and June next year and influencers will be invited to stay for a period of three or four nights. The lodge has capacity to accommodate up to 14 influencers each week. During their stay they will create inspiring digital content which they will share across social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

The content created will be available to VILN’s member businesses to share across their channels to ensure that the campaign’s longevity extends beyond the year.

VILN is the Tourism Business Improvement District (BID) for Inverness and Loch Ness. The organisation was established in March 2014 following a ballot of all member businesses. Today the organisation has almost 400 levy paying members and 50 ‘opt-in’ members from all the key tourism sectors in the Inverness, Loch Ness and surrounding area – hotels, guest houses, self-catering, visitor attractions, restaurants, outdoor activity providers and more.

The VisitScotland Growth Fund supports collaborative tourism marketing projects which focus on growth and ensure that visitors experience the best of Scotland. To be eligible for a Growth Fund award, applicants must place a strong emphasis on digital marketing and the creation of digital content assets.

For more information about VILN, go to www.visitinvernesslochness.com/trade 

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