What are VisitScotland's Activities?

UK Marketing
VisitScotland's UK Marketing campaigns focus on offering attractive products for the expanding short breaks market and also for the need to extend the tourism season. Click here for more information.

International Marketing
International Marketing's activities target a variety of markets. Click here for further information on campaigns.

What is Tartan Week?

The US Senate designated April 6th as National Tartan Day in 1998 to honour “the outstanding contribution of millions of Scottish-Americans to our great nation” and the House of Representatives passed a similar resolution in 2005. The significance of April 6th dates back to the 1320 signing of the Declaration of Arbroath, which was the model for the American Declaration of Independence.

New York City has celebrated Tartan Day since 1999 and every year the amount of activities has increased to the point that it is now referred to as Tartan Week - a week long celebration of Scotland, providing a high profile showcase of our culture, products and way of life! Tartan Week in New York represents a major opportunity for the promotion of Scotland, not only for tourism but also as a platform to dramatically enhance the profile of Scotland.

What marketing and PR activity does VisitScotland undertake for Tartan Week?

A major programme of advertising and marketing is undertaken by VisitScotland around Tartan Week. In 2007, this included:

Press advertising, including key New York publications, Time Out NY and New York Magazine
On-line advertising
Electronic promotion to over 180,000 US consumers
400 banners promoting Tartan Week around the Grand Central area of Manhattan, as well as signage throughout Grand Central Terminal itself, seen by 11 million New Yorkers
100,000 Tartan Week ‘What’s On’ guides distributed to New Yorkers before and during Tartan Week
The Win a Scottish Castle competition was promoted to 1 million on-line subscribers to the New York Times
Dedicated Tartan Week website www.tartanweekny.com. It was estimated that more than 100,000 people would visit the site, from where they can book direct flights to Scotland.
VisitScotland runs a major public relations campaign around Tartan Week, which results in profile for Scotland as a tourism destination in major US TV news programmes, radio and newspapers. The Scottish Village preview night is one of the best attended tourism events in Manhattan, with over 300 key media and travel trade attending
80,000 Vacation Planners published and distributed at the Scottish Village in addition to 30,000 Ancestral Vacation booklets at the Scottish Village. These are all designed to encourage people to book a trip to Scotland.

What return does VisitScotland achieve for this investment?

VisitScotland has achieved a significant return on investment for Tartan Week. In 2006, $4 million of coverage was generated in American newspapers, TV and radio for Scotland – reaching 97 million potential travellers.

By having the Scottish Village in Grand Central Station, and by running an extensive program of advertising, marketing and PR around the Village and also promoting Scotland generally, (on the back of a period in which there is much media attention in the US) VisitScotland engages with a huge audience of potential visitors.

In 2006, over 60,000 New Yorkers spent time in the Scottish Village. 55 per cent of people surveyed said that visiting the Scottish Village made them more likely to book a trip to Scotland. £1.5 million of new tourism business was secured as a result of the VisitScotland sales mission carried out during Tartan Week 2006 and VisitScotland’s advertising around Tartan Week reached an audience of 18 million.

What private sector companies are involved in VisitScotland’s Tartan Week activity?

Glenfiddich, the world’s leading single malt scotch whisky, has signed a 3-year deal to sponsor the Scottish Village at Tartan Week from 2007-2009.
Scotland’s largest regional brewer, Belhaven, sponsors the Ancestral zone of the Scottish Village, as well as running in-bar gigs with musicians around New York.
Major US airline Continental, is the airline partner of the Scottish Village. Continental runs popular direct flights from New York’s Newark Airport to Edinburgh and Glasgow, and recently announced an increase in its daily service to Edinburgh to meet demand. Continental will also partner VisitScotland in a major US consumer sweepstakes ‘Win A Scottish Castle’ – www.winascottishcastle.com – which offers US visitors the chance to win a money-can’t-buy week in East Lothian’s Fenton Towers with five friends.
Scottish retailers will be profiled in the Made in Scotland Retail Zone of the Scottish Village, and will have goods on sale. The companies involved include: Cashmere retailer, Best of Scotland, 21st Century Kilts, Harris Tweed Textiles, Thistle and Broom, Tartan T-shirts and Scottish Gourmet USA.

To view VisitScotland's marketing overview of Tartan Week, click here

What is VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance Scheme and how can I join?
VisitScotland operates a wide range of Quality Assurance Schemes from traditional accommodation and visitor attractions to train and cruise trips. The grading scheme is one which incorporates ‘stars’ and has been used as a benchmark for other countries wishing to start a similar scheme for their own domestic tourism product; both South Africa and Namibia use the VisitScotland Quality Assurance Scheme framework for their own tourism industries.

In 1984, the then Scottish Tourist Board proposed that a team of ‘verifiers’ checking that establishments met their claimed classifications would raise standards. Today, over 70% of accommodation providers are graded (currently being verified), with over 90% of visitor attractions in the Visitor Attraction grading scheme.

For more details on how you can join this scheme, go to the Quality Assurance section.

What is EatScotland?
Scotland’s food and drink sector is becoming a great attraction for visitors to Scotland and in order to develop and promote it even further, EatScotland, the national food quality assurance scheme, was launched in 2005. It allows consumers to find places to eat which have good quality food, great service, good facilities and high standards of hygiene. The scheme incorporates all types of eateries, ranging from tea rooms and pubs to hotels and restaurants.

In 2007, EatScotland announced an Award Scheme in a move to raise the bar in the Scottish eating out scene. Over 40 establishments were declared EatScotland Silver Award winners, a reflection of the individual establishments high standards of cuisine, service and the overall eating out experience.

The EatScotland Silver & Gold Award scheme recognises outstanding standards in dining out across Scotland whether they are Michelin restaurants or cafes, tea rooms or the local chippie. The much-anticipated scheme was launched in a bid to boost standards in eating establishments across Scotland and celebrate excellence, and ultimately boost tourism by changing perceptions of Scottish cuisine on a worldwide scale.

A number of other restaurants around Scotland have also been awarded EatScotland Individual Excellence Awards, in recognition of the unique and memorable experiences they offer customers:

The website www.eatscotland.com compliments the overall scheme, providing consumers with information about members of the scheme and also general facts on eating out in particular regions of Scotland. New features are added to the site regularly.

What is the Information and Sales project?
This project started in June 2005 and was set up to look in detail at all the information and sales activities currently offered to visitors. Following the merger, the new organisation had a major network across Scotland and also partly in England and this was an appropriate time to review how well the network was meeting the needs of visitors and what kind of changes, if any, needed to be made for the future. The network also includes visitscotland.com, partnership operations and approximately 170 kiosks and information points. Substantial research was carried out among visitors and residents together with feedback sought from tourism businesses.

The project team then analysed the findings and recommendations and it was agreed that the focus would be on five programmes of activity:

Outreach – taking the service outside the TIC, e.g. using roving staff and mobile units
Content – ensuring quality of content (irrespective of channel)
Ease of Purchase – making it easy for visitors to buy, e.g. self service options, queue management
Partnerships – increasing our number of partnerships with local authorities, private businesses and other tourism organisations
Customer Relationships – maintaining ongoing contact with visitors when they return home

There are a number of projects currently being developed in conjunction with partners. For more information, email janice.mack@visitscotland.com

For more information on the research (including the summaries from each work stream) go to Information and Sales Strategy

What are the VisitScotland Scottish Thistle Awards?
The VisitScotland Scottish Thistle Awards are widely recognised as one of the top accolades a tourism business can receive. They seek out tourism businesses that consistently strive for quality and innovation. For more information visit the Thistle Awards section.

Why does VisitScotland work with the film industry?
“Set-jetting” is a growing trend where film fans will visit the locations of their favourite movies. The film industry is therefore one with important links to tourism and VisitScotland is working hard to ensure that Scotland benefits from the positive impact of the film industry.

Examples include the Da Vinci Code, which was partly filmed at Rosslyn Chapel in Midlothian. VisitScotland was part of a unique partnership with Sony Pictures, VisitBritain and French tourism agency Maison de la France to promote the locations in the Holywood movie to film fans from around the world.

VisitScotland knows, anecdotally, that films featuring Scotland or being filmed on location in Scotland can have a positive impact on Scottish tourism.

A very obvious example of the impact of the film industry is Braveheart. Braveheart stimulated huge interest in medieval freedom-fighter William Wallace and has served as a very successful advertisement for Scotland since its first release. A survey in 1996, the year after this Oscar-winning epic was released, showed films had been a factor for a fifth of American visitors deciding to come to Scotland. Following the release of the film, visitor figures for the Wallace Monument soared.

Why is ancestral tourism important to VisitScotland?
With over 50 million people from all over the world claiming Scottish ancestry, the scale and scope of this market is immense for VisitScotland. The website www.ancestralscotland.com has been developed to enable people to research their ancestry and plan a trip to Scotland to experience their heritage first hand. VisitScotland also undertakes an extensive programme of events and marketing activity including Tartan Week in New York, a series of press trips and advertising.

The Ancestral Tourism Market:

It is estimated that over 50 million people all over the world can claim Scottish ancestry. The scale and scope of the market is therefore immense.
The USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are our main overseas markets. This project therefore potentially opens up new markets to tourism businesses across Scotland.
The USA makes up 19% of ancestral tourists to Scotland, Canadians make up 15% and Australians 13%.
Research undertaken by DTZ Pieda identified that visitors undertaking genealogy activities spend at least 10% more per day than the average tourist to Scotland.
In the future, the number of ancestral tourists to Scotland could increase to between 300,000 and 800,000 trips annually, with the overseas market providing the greatest area for potential growth.
Ancestral tourism offers the potential for year-round dispersal of visitors, leading to a real opportunity to develop tourism in Scotland in off-peak periods.

Does golf attract people to come to Scotland?
Scotland is known worldwide as 'the home of golf'. Visitors have been coming to Scotland for golf holidays for over 100 years and there are over 500 courses, more per head of population than almost anywhere else in the world.

North American Golfing Holidaymakers:

Long-established and well-understood segment of the market targeted by major resorts, golf courses, hotels, and incoming golf tour operators.
Particularly interested in playing famous and traditional links courses, including Open Championship and Open Qualifying courses.
Usually on a tour round the parts of Scotland where these courses are located.
Highest spending golfing visitors to Scotland, with average spend per head in Scotland of around £1,300 in 2001.

What are the major courses/regions that groups want to visit?
There is a vast array of over 500 courses to choose from located throughout Scotland. As you may expect, most groups want to play the Championship and Links courses, but a lot of interest does surround Scotland’s parkland courses. Arguably, the ‘must – tee’ courses are the Old Course at St Andrews Bay, Turnberry, Carnoustie, Gleneagles, Troon and Muirfield. VisitScotland also encourages groups to play the lesser- known courses as each course represents a different challenge.

Media Centre
visitscotland.org has a dedicated Media Centre to keep you informed of all the latest activity and developments in the tourism industry. Click here to find out what's new.