Introduction from Regional Director, Neil Christison
Scottish Thistle awards regional final
Scotland's UNESCO trail marketing activity
Come to our Networking event with East Lothian
Forever Edinburgh Accessibility survey
In other news...
Join our Facebook group
It has been fantastic to see the return of domestic and international visitors to Edinburgh and the Lothians over the summer months, as well as live events and festivals taking place across the region.
As we approach the winter season, we will continue to work with partners in our tourism and events industry on promoting activity that extends the season and ensuring Scotland and Edinburgh and the Lothians remain front of mind for potential visitors.
We’re prioritising activities that will stimulate demand and new bookings for the industry to support its long-term recovery, with more details in this update.
We know that many businesses are facing difficult decisions and are having to consider how they adapt their operations to manage the cost challenges. We would encourage you to explore our industry website for all the latest industry advice, support and guidance and we'll bring you news on industry events taking place in the region.
We also want to take the opportunity to celebrate our tourism and events industry who have worked tirelessly in the past two years. It was fantastic to come together once again for the Scottish Thistle Awards Lothian & Borders Regional Final last week and celebrate the very best in tourism and the excellence that is helping to rebuild this vital part of the economy.
Best regards
Neil Christison
Tourism businesses across Central, Fife & Tayside and the Lothians and Scottish Borders received recognition at Scotland’s premier tourism and events awards on 27 October at Prestonfield House Hotel in Edinburgh.
We deliver the Awards sponsored by Johnstons of Elgin and it includes a media partnership with News Scotland for the first time this year. They celebrate the very best of tourism in Scotland and the excellence that is helping to rebuild this vital part of the Scottish economy in the last two years.
The winners of the regional finals
Congratulations to the Edinburgh and Lothians winners
We wish the regional winners the best of luck as they continue to the Scottish Thistle Awards National Final next year
Our corporate PR team work closely with partners to raise awareness of our work to promote Edinburgh and the Lothians to visitors, and the support available for our industry in the Scottish and UK media.
Some of the highlights include:
The three bridges, Edinburgh
Some of Scotland’s most iconic, diverse and culturally significant sites are being promoted to domestic and international visitors with the launch of our dedicated marketing campaign, developed in collaboration with UNESCO and designation partners.
The campaign promotes Scotland’s UNESCO Trail to potential visitors from the UK & Ireland, Germany and France with the aim of encouraging them to discover more about the country’s 13 place-based designations included in the trail.
Glenkinchie Distillery
Join us and Visit East Lothian for a Christmas networking event at Glenkinchie Distillery on the 8 December 2022. Come along to meet with your peers and discuss tourism in our region with a tour of the distillery, welcome drinks and canapes.
This event is for East Lothian tourism, hospitality and events businesses.
Tickets to this event are free and you can secure your place now on our event booking page.
#Forever Edinburgh is carrying out an audit of inclusive and accessible friendly products and services in Edinburgh and the Lothians.
This important survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete and will be an invaluable source of information about what Edinburgh’s tourism businesses offer visitors and residents as an Inclusive and Accessible destination.
Insights generated will be used to promote your accessible and inclusive services across the Forever Edinburgh platform, including paid campaign activity.
The closing date is the 15 November 2022 , fill out the survey.
We provide face-to-face information provision and inspiration to visitors through a Scotland-wide network of iCentres (Information Centres). Our iCentres remain at the heart of information delivery. Our knowledgeable and passionate staff provide a personalised service to visitors, making their visit even more memorable and helping them to experience all the local area and surrounding region have to offer.
We've been talking to our staff at our Edinburgh iCentre to discuss the period of July - September 2022.
The Edinburgh iCentre team
Welcoming back local visitors on day trips in the city, leisure visitors from across the UK and an enhanced level of footfall from the overseas market. There's been a real buzz this summer and our staff have really enjoyed interacting with visitors from all over the world.
Preparation has been the key this summer for the team and they thoroughly enjoyed working with organisers from the various festivals and attending muster meetings with local attractions to enhance the visitors experience to promote what was on offer throughout the city.
The iCentre over this period have welcomed 61,700 visitors through its door, a 194% increase on the prior year. Visitors have been keen to book with our partners with walking tours and day trips to the Highlands proving really popular.
This has reflected in the excellent feedback we have received on tripadvisor thanking the team for great customer service and helping organise itineraries and attractions to visit. Our reviews have had consistent 5-star ratings.
We have also partnered with new ticket suppliers this quarter such as Solve a Mystery – a self-guided tour that’s inspired by true crime from the past, Tourist Walks App – a self-guided tour application in various languages that explores the neighbourhood and the local culture and All-star Guides, a guided walking tour looking into Dark History & Old Town Stories. These new tours have been welcomed by our visitors.
Mid-August the iCentre had a European family arrive to the iCentre looking slightly bewildered as to what was going on in Edinburgh and had no idea about the Fringe and various festivals. They were planning on staying for two weeks and as you can image struggled to find accommodation ( they were a family of six ).
When checking accommodation in and around the City nothing was available so we suggested that they move out of the City. After searching various locations they opted for a self-catering lodge in Helmsdale. The VSA was slightly worried for the family as this really wasn’t the trip they had planned but none the less the visitor went a head and booked.
The VSA went on to give them some handy tips on things to see and do in the area and to his surprise the family came back two weeks later with pictures of their holiday after having a great time in the North Highlands and finally finished their trip at the end of the month in a not so busy Edinburgh.
This year saw the return of Edinburgh Festivals bringing the summer in the City back to life with the very best music, theatre, opera and dance from around the globe. Exciting performances took place over Edinburgh’s theatres and concert halls and other pop up venues.
The Royal Mile was once again filled with entertainers and comedians from all over the world drawing in the crowds and filling the street with energy. Let's not forget the return of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo with this year's theme titled Voices. A spectacular combination of music, dance and military precision from some of the world’s leading armed forces and cultural performers. The Edinburgh iCentre team was lucky enough to be invited along and it was a truly memorable night. What a show!
With the winter months on the horizon the City will begin to don its festive attire. The next few weeks we will see the City decked out in its iconic Christmas Décor. Edinburgh’s Christmas Markets will re-open and the team are looking forward to promoting events such as Castle of light which will see the castle lit up with stunning visuals along with Edinburgh Zoo’s Christmas Nights and the Magical Festive Illuminated Trail at the Botanical Gardens.
But before we get carried away with the festive season there are still several noteworthy events such as Bonfire Night, St. Andrews Day and various festivals and more to look forward to! Winter in Edinburgh is a true delight and the team is working hard to gather a great variety of information on events to pass on to their visitors.
