The west goes wild for coasts and waters

The first ever pan west coast Scotland tourism campaign has received funding support from VisitScotland.

A collaboration between 21 of Scotland’s west coast destination partners and WildScotland, with CalMac Ferries also a key partner, the campaign looks to attract visitors to the west coast and surrounding islands in 2020 to either get on, or in the water. This is following a major scoping initiative in 2018 where 300 hubs across the west coast were identified as locations where visitors can experience Scotland’s marine tourism offering.

Using the Year of Coasts and Waters 2020 as a platform, the 12-month campaign will work with influencers and use digital marketing to raise awareness of the sheer breadth and scale of opportunities available across the west coast of Scotland for adventure seekers and curious travelers from the UK. Influencer activity will begin this weekend which includes travel blogger ‘Adventures Around Scotland’ going on a week-long tour of Wester Ross, Skye, Harris and Lewis, and ‘Travels with a Kilt’ exploring Lochaber, Skye, the Uists, Barra and Oban.

The campaign will focus on four key products:

·         Boat trips exploring the wildlife, natural wonders, uninhabited islands, remote attractions and stunning scenery of the west coast

·         Island hopping with Calmac and other ferry and boat operator services

·         Trails of Discovery including snorkeling, sea kayaking, seafood, whisky, whales and dolphins

·         Snorkeling, Wild Swimming, Surfing and Paddlesports

The campaign’s landing page was launched today together with a toolkit for the area’s tourism industry, showing how they can get involved in the campaign and make the most of the opportunities presented by the Year of Coasts and Waters 2020.  

In 2020, Scotland celebrates its Coasts and Waters with a year-long programme of events and activities which will shine a spotlight on these vital elements of our landscape.

The full list of bloggers travelling around the west of Scotland as part of the campaign in September are as follows:

·         Wester Ross, Skye, Harris and Lewis  - Adventures around Scotland 21-29 Sept

·         Lochaber, Road to the Isles and Small Isles, Skye, The Uists, Barra and Oban –Travels with a Kilt – 19-30 Sept

·         Morvern, Ardnamurchan, Mull, Coll, Tiree and Argyll – The Chaotic Scot – 20-29 Sept

·         Clyde Coast, Kintyre, Islay, Jura, Colonsay and Argyll – Watch Me See – 22-30 Sept

·         Loch Lomond, Clyde Sea Lochs, Arran, Kintyre, Bute, Cowal and Cumbrae 

-       Five Ferries by Car – Laretour – 21-24 September

-       Loch Lomond Cowal and Bute – Kim Kjaerside – 27-29 September

-       Cumbrae in a day – Castle Hunter – 28 Sept

The collaboration delivering the campaign is called the West Coast Marine Toruism Collaborative. Led by the Argyll & the Isles Tourism Co-operative, it was established in November 2017 with representation from 18 pan west coast Destination Management Organisations/marketing groups.  It has since grown to embrace 22 destination and sectoral groups representing in excess of 2,500 tourism interests, namely;

Argyll & The Isles Tourism Cooperative 

Coll Development Trust

Colonsay Marketing Group

Cowal Marketing Group

Explore Kintyre & Gigha

Heart of Argyll Tourism Alliance

Inveraray Marketing Group

Islay & Jura Tourism Marketing Group

Isle of Cumbrae Tourist Association

Kyles Marketing Group

Love Loch Lomond

Marketing Mull & Iona

Oban & Lorn Tourism Alliance

Outdoor Capital of the UK (Lochaber Chamber of Commerce)

Outer Hebrides Tourism

Road to the Isles Marketing Group

Skye Connect

SMMAATA (Ardnamurchan and wider area)

Visit Arran

Visit Bute

Visit Wester Ross/ Wester Ross Biosphere

WildScotland

Public sector and travel partners include Calmac Ferries, Scotrail, Scottish Natural Heritage, UHI Centre for Recreation and Tourism Research and their EU funded CAPITEN project, Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park, Argyll & Bute Council, North Ayrshire Council with conversations ongoing with other partners.

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 the campaign go to www.westcoastwaters.co.uk. 

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