Ancestral Tourism - Latest News September 2008
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The Ancestral Tourism Newsletter is sent out on a quarterly basis to businesses and individuals interested in keeping up to date with developments in the ancestral market. It contains news from the ancestral tourism community, updates on the work of the Ancestral Tourism Initiative, plus details of events which may be of interest to ancestral tourists. News from The Gathering
Visitors will also be able to enjoy the best of contemporary Scotland, with high-quality textiles, arts and crafts, and the finest local food and drink, including:
The centrepiece of the weekend is an unprecedented Clan Parade of around 5000 clan members marching from the Palace of Holyroodhouse along the historic Royal Mile to a spectacular Historic Pageant on Edinburgh Castle Esplanade, where the dramatic story of Scotland’s clan history will unfold. There are already 140 clan and family societies taking part in the Parade, and 110 of these will be represented in the Clan Village at the Highland Games, where visitors can meet their clan chief! Visitors will be able to and find out more about their ancestry in the Genealogy Zone, which will be staffed by members of the Scotland’s People team. Anyone wishing to follow up their family history search in more detail will be able to do so at the new Scotland’s People Centre, which will be staying open specially all weekend. ‘Passports’, which guarantee the holder a place in the Clan Parade, a seat for the Historic Pageant and entry to both days of the Highland Games, are selling fast so potential visitors must book now at www.thegathering2009.com in order to be a part of history. *******Stop Press******* Day passes and weekend tickets for the Highland Games are on sale now to non-Passport holders at www.thegathering2009.com. Entry to the Highland Games for adults is £15, with £10 concession tickets for people over 60 years-old, students, children aged between four and 15, while children aged three or under are free. Family tickets are also available for either one or both days of the Highland Games, which means a family of five can enjoy the events in Holyrood Park for as little as £9.50 each. Kinloch Anderson - keeping families on the map
The Clan and Family Names Map shows the coats of arms, territories of Scottish clans, and the ancient Principalities of Scotland at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Not only does this make a colourful wallchart, but for anyone travelling around the country the main roads, airports, and many clan-associated tourist attractions are clearly marked. The map is based on “Scotland of Old”, the highly popular clan names map originally conceived and compiled by Sir Iain Moncreiffe, a scholar and genealogist, and one of the most innovative heraldic artists of his time, Don Pottinger, both of whom were Officers of the Lyon Court. The Clan and Family Names Map of Scotland normally retails for £5.99, however The Gathering are offering the maps to tourism businesses wishing to retail them at a discounted price of £3.59 per map. For more information on retailing the map please contact Ros Davies at The Gathering on Tel. 0131 561 1323, E: ros@thegathering2009.com Arnold Clark - Helping Visitors to Come Home for The Gathering 2009 The Gathering 2009 has teamed up with one of Scotland's largest vehicle rental companies, Arnold Clark, to help visitors coming home in 2009 to make the most of their time in Scotland. As the official car hire firm of The Gathering 2009, Arnold Clark are offering an exclusive 15% discount car rental for bookings made between 1st September 2008 to 31st December 2008. Visitors should use the promotional code 'GATH' online at arnoldclarkrental.com or when booking by telephone through their Central Reservations Team on +44 (0)845 60 745 00. Terms and conditions apply - see http://www.clangathering.org/content/car-hire.html for more details. Highland Homecoming – ur beatha dhan dùthaich!
A three day international conference, Buaidh Chruinneil na h-Alba – mar a dh’atharraich aon dùthaich bheag an saoghal! Scotland’s Global Impact – how one small nation changed the world!, begins on 22 October 2009 in Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, Scotland’s largest arts facility. At a time when the Highland population is rising for the first time in centuries, this gathering brings together prominent historians and other experts from Scotland and around the world to throw new light on movement to and from our country. Appealing to anyone with an interest in Scottish ancestry and the global role Scots have played in shaping our world, the conference themes include a focus on early migration patterns to and from Scotland, as well as assessing the trends in contemporary population movement; examining our ancestors’ desire to travel from Scotland to North America, Australia, New Zealand and beyond; and looking at the role of the Scots in the military at home and abroad from the 17th to 19th centuries. Hear about the peoples who made Scotland, and contrast this with our current migration patterns. Discover the connected lives and legends of Abraham Lincoln and Robert Burns. Explore the long distance relationships Scotland holds with New Zealand and Australia. And hear how Scottish soldiers have contributed to campaigns both fighting for their own territory and for that of their allies. Visit www.scotlandsglobalimpact.com now to find out more and to register your interest. Featuring speakers including Professor Ted Cowan, Professor Tom Devine, Professor Jim Hunter, Professor John Mackenzie and Dr Tony Pollard. New for 2009 – Homecoming Pass
For the first time visitors will be able to see the vast majority of Scotland’s fascinating historic attractions and follow in the footsteps of many of Scotland’s most famous names. Famous castles, magnificent palaces, wonderful houses, battlefields and distilleries are all included. The new Homecoming Pass is the only pass your clients will need to experience the very best of Scotland’s built heritage.
Passes will be supplied on a ‘sale or return’ basis – you only pay for those sold, simply returning any unused passes at the end of the season. No payment is required until the passes expire, making them ideal for groups or FITs. An added benefit to visitors is that the pass will give ‘fast-track’ entry at many of the larger attractions including Edinburgh and Stirling Castles. For more information on retailing the Homecoming Pass please contact the Travel Trade Team at Historic Scotland, Tel. 0131 668 8831, E: hs.explorer@scotland.gsi.gov.uk Historic Scotland’s Homecoming programme
The agency is keen to hear from community groups and others who are interested in using Historic Scotland sites and facilities for Homecoming-themed events. Please contact Nick Finnigan, Events Manager at nick.finnigan@scotland.gsi.gov.uk Historic Scotland is also actively working with National Trust for Scotland to develop family trails around sites with links to particular family names. It is also hoped that a programme of living history events, including costumed characters, will link in to the project. Further updates on this project will be provided in a future newsletter.
VisitScotland’s Homecoming Marketing Campaign With five months to go before the Year of Homecoming begins, VisitScotland’s consumer marketing campaign is in full swing. Much of the activity is focused on the key North American and Australasian markets, where all the activity is now geared towards Homecoming. A PR programme has been in place for some time, and over the next 4 months over 100 journalists from long-haul markets will be visiting Scotland to get a flavour of how the country is preparing for Homecoming and to meet with many of the event organisers. The features which result from these visits will appear in the press worldwide from November to March, which is the key planning period for a trip to Scotland for many visitors. The wider marketing campaign will see activity aimed at two distinct niche markets:
Much of the marketing will be carried out via print and publications identified as being widely –read by our target markets. A 4-page insert is being included in National Geographic Magazine across North America, with the Homecoming website as the call to action. Two- page adverts will be taken in diaspora media,such as Scottish Banner and The Highlander. 250,000 copies of a 40 page Events Guide will be distributed, with 140,000 of these being direct-mailed to households in North America that have been profiled by Scots ancestry and income. In addition, 100,000 flyers are being produced. Print production will be supported by a substantial online marketing campaign, Sweepstake promotions and attendance at selected Highland Games in North America Running alongside overseas marketing activity will be a TV advertising campaign aimed at Scottish residents, which will start airing on St Andrews Day, and a UK marketing campaign which will include outdoor advertising, direct mail and Underground advertising. ‘Refreshed’ Homecoming website launched
As outlined above, the bulk of Homecoming promotional activity aimed at short haul and domestic markets will take place later this year, reflecting the shorter lead times consumers in these markets take when choosing their holiday destinations for 2009. The events search engine provides comprehensive information on all official Homecoming events that are confirmed to date. In the ‘Get Involved’ section you can download the brand guidelines, logo and an event search ‘widget’ that you can add to your own website. Please get involved and help the Homecoming team spread the word. Clearances statue unveiled in Canada
At the unveiling in Winnipeg, Canada’s Environment Minister also encouraged Canadians of Scottish ancestry to return to their roots in 2009 and join the Homecoming Scotland celebrations. Exiles is a ten foot high bronze statue that depicts a family of four departing Scotland and looking ahead to a new future. It is situated close to the historic Red River in Winnipeg, where the Earl of Selkirk settled Scottish families. Angus & Dundee Roots Festival
. The week was rounded off with a Farewell Ceilidh on board the world’s most original wooden warship, HM Frigate Unicorn. The visit proved extremely poignant for some, and for others it held a few surprises! One delegate, Stu Hosler from Canada, met his second cousin from Arbroath who coincidentally had signed up to be a Roots Festival volunteer! Since their meeting, other long-lost family members have come out of the woodworkand further family reunions are planned! Remembering Scotland at War
Their Past Your Future Scotland Phase 1 commemorated the 60th anniversary of World War II through a touring exhibition and a series of community events including local exhibitions, entertainment, and events specifically created to generate intergenerational learning opportunities. One of the biggest outcomes was the gathering of invaluable first hand accounts, experiences and veterans stories that otherwise would never be known. The majority of these were extracted through interaction with schoolchildren or groups of young people. Their Past Your Future Scotland Phase 2 will bring together young people and older generations in communities across Scotland capturing oral histories focussing on World War II and subsequent conflicts. The outputs from these oral history projects will be a series of some 300 online mini-exhibitions or 'vignettes' - oral histories and illustrative or contextual items from local and national collections. These may include diary extracts, newspaper articles, old photographs, archival film, documents, paintings, and photographed objects. Together, they will create a vivid story of a person, event or location. The projects will cover a multitude of themes including Women in the shipyards; Letters from home; The sea, wrecks and beachcombing; and The Clydebank Blitz. Become an Ancestral Detective It is sometimes said that each of us is the sum total of all our ancestors. Our past is their past; a series of ancestral links connecting each generation with the one before. And you can quickly and easily delve into that fascinating past, discovering so much about who you really are. It is a small step then to visit the places where your ancestors lived and, often quite literally, walk in their footsteps. Scotland has some of the best ancestral research records in the world and many of them are available online. New researchers can find the amount of information online intimidating, so a new introductory short course www.ancestralresearch.org is designed to help get new researchers started. It guides them step by step as they use online information to create their own family tree, learn more about their ancestors and plan an ancestral journey back home to Scotland. The Scottish Ancestral Research Online course has been developed jointly by North Highland College and Seabridge Consultants. With ease of use in mind, the course is divided into seven chapters that take students through their personal ancestral journey. An important feature of the course is that students are encouraged to work on their own ancestral research during the course, and the content leads them from genealogy to family history then on to writing their own family history and planning a visit to an ancestral homeland to ‘walk in ancestral footsteps’. The course consists of fourteen hours worth of study material and costs only £50. Each student works at his or her own pace and has the support of a tutor throughout the course. North Highland College is a partner in the UHI Millennium Institute, the future University of the Highlands and Islands. The college’s e-learning development team NHC Online, based at the Thurso campus, has a track record of innovation in online learning and an extensive portfolio of courses. The college has developed the course in conjunction with Cameron Taylor of Seabridge Consultants. Seabridge has extensive experience in ancestral tourism developments and Cameron’s book Rooted in Scotland, published by the Luath Press Ltd, explores Scottish ancestral research and tourism themes. The course is brand new and the developers would welcome your comments on it. Royal Navy Records Go Online
NLS Maps Go Online
New VisitScotland Growth Fund Launched
Applications are welcomed from groups of tourism businesses operating at a local, regional or national level who will assist the tourism industry in reaching the ambitious 50% tourism revenue growth target by 2015. All projects applying for funding should contribute to the following objectives:
The Growth Fund can support groups with 40% of approved total marketing costs over a one year period – with a minimum award of £2,500 to a maximum of £65,000 available. (Total project value from £6,250 to £162,500). The key benefits of receiving VisitScotland Growth Funding include:
Further information on the fund on the fund is available at www.visitscotland.org/growthfund. |
