Find out about our recent activity to support tourism recovery for the South of Scotland
What's included in this update?
Introduction from interim Regional Director for the South of Scotland, Annique Armstrong
Scottish Thistle Awards regional final
Article published 04/11/2022
Interim Regional Director, Annique Armstrong
It's been fantastic to see the return of domestic and international visitors to our region over the summer months, as well as live events and festivals taking place across the region.
As we move through the autumn and winter season, we'll continue to work with partners in our tourism and events industry on promoting activity that extends the season and ensuring Scotland and the South of Scotland remains 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 within 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 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,
Annique Armstrong
Scottish Thistle Awards regional final
Tourism businesses across Central, Fife and 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 Scottish Thistle Awards, sponsored by Johnstons of Elgin. It included a media partnership with News Scotland for the first time this year. The awards 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.
Winner Caroline Raeburn, Peebles Hydro
Congratulations to Scottish Borders winner Caroline Raeburn from Peebles Hydro. Caroline, who has over 30 years of hospitality experience, won in the Tourism & Hospitality Hero category, sponsored by HIT Scotland.
The regional final for Dumfries & Galloway will take place at Òran Mór, Glasgow, on Thursday 10 November.
Corporate Press update
Our corporate PR team work closely with partners to raise awareness of our work to promote Scotland and the South of Scotland to visitors, and the support available for our industry in the Scottish and UK media.
Some of the highlights include:
- We announced the shortlist for the regional finals in the Scottish Thistle Awards. More than one hundred tourism businesses and events, including accommodation providers, visitor attractions, hotels and individuals, were shortlisted for an award in the Central, Fife & Tayside, West and Lothian & Borders Regional Finals.
- We highlighted the valuable knowledge and insights of our iCentre in Dumfries, as staff celebrated the region’s strong agricultural connections with the return of Galloway Country Fair.
- We supported the announcement of the new South of Scotland Cycling Tourism Strategy and the announcement of the launch of a project to develop a 250-mile coast to coast cycle route from Eyemouth to Stranraer, ahead of the 2023 Cycling World Championships.
- We also promoted the launch of a new marketing campaign in the UK and Europe to encourage visitors to discover more about Scotland’s UNESCO Trail, including the Galloway & Southern Ayrshire Biosphere.
Cyclist at Menock Pass
Scotland's UNESCO trail regional marketing
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.
The trail features the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere. Take a look at the dedicated pages.
UNESCO Trail Lochans in Galloway Forest Park
Find out more about the trail including the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere
Our iCentres | Jedburgh and Dumfries
We provide face-to-face information provision and inspiration to visitors through our network of iCentres (Information Centres).
iCentres remain at the heart of information delivery and our knowledgeable and passionate staff provide a personalised service to visitors, making their visit even more memorable. They also help visitors to experience all that the local area and surrounding region have to offer.
We've been talking to our staff at our Jedburgh and Dumfries iCentres about what's been happening over the past few months.
Hear from Jedburgh iCentre...
It's been good to welcome back many more visitors from overseas, including from the continent and further afield. Places such as Argentina and Brazil. We've also seen the return of more coach parties.
We’ve had a few people mention that they’ve been to Scotland before, but they are specifically back to visit our area as they bypassed it on their last visit.
The footfall was very good in the last three month, and we've welcomed visitors from all different parts of the world – our large group of Italians who regularly stay overnight in their motorhomes have returned.
Many visitors have commented how nice it’s been to either finally come to visit Scotland after COVID-19 restrictions, or how nice it’s been to be back.
We spoke to a lovely young lady from Belgium who was in Scotland for her Honeymoon. They have fallen in love with Scotland, and she was a 'bit teary' at the thought of leaving. She wanted loads of information so they could go home and plan their next holiday here.
She said they were thinking of getting a campervan for their return visit in order to explore more of the country. She worked in an information centre near Flanders in Belgium so left very happy, armed with brochures and helpful information to plot their next adventure.
It has been fantastic to see the return of several local events. The annual Callants Festival in July, Jedburgh Market in August and the Birl and Bear Festival in August. While we haven’t been directly involved in these events, they are great for the local community, and we welcome many new visitors through our doors as a result.
With the festive season and Christmas approaching we hope to hold an iCentre event at the same time as the Jedburgh seasonal market takes place. This will help to bring locals into the iCentre for Christmas shopping and we can say hello!
Hear from the staff at Dumfries iCentre
Still a very real feeling of relief after COVID-19. People are so happy to have the freedom to explore again. Visitor numbers are not yet back to 2019 levels, but it is wonderful to have the chance to promote our glorious region!
Our What’s Open document, (started under COVID-19 to support the printed guides with updated information), is still proving very popular. We update it continuously and send out a new version every two weeks – if you want to join the mailing list, let us know.
Visitor numbers haven’t reached 2019 levels yet, but we hope they will soon.
Feedback has been great as ever and we were delighted to get a five-star TripAdvisor review for our VSA Claire.
Here's an email we received from a visitor
"Hi Natasha, thanks very much for getting back to me with such a full, friendly and informative reply. It is very much appreciated. Those links should prove invaluable. Thanks again for that… … Thanks once again. You really have been most helpful. Have a wonderful week."
Feedback re camping on the South West Coast 300
"Thank you so much for your informative response and the very concise attachments. You have provided an excellent service. We are excited... not long now."
We love working with visitors, helping them to have the best experience. We got this email from a very happy visitor.
"You told us about the Viking Hoard Exhibition in Kirkcudbright which was on its last day. THANK YOU! It was astounding and we would have missed it without your advice! P.S. My niece adores the puffin socks you sold us! Thank you!"
Trip to Moat Brae
The team enjoyed a familiarisation trip to Moat Brae and had a guided tour from the Marketing Officer, Anna. Very apt for Year of Stories 2022, as Moat Brae is The National Centre for Children’s Literature and Storytelling. Moat Brae Garden is where J M Barrie is said to have been inspired to create the magical world of Neverland and Peter Pan.
Familiarisation trip to Cream o’ Galloway and Barstobrick
We also went on a familiarisation trip to Cream o’ Galloway and Barstobrick to look at agritourism and diversification in farming. At Cream o’ Galloway we had a farm tour and learned how they made their ice cream and cheese. At Barstobrick, we enjoyed a wander through the fairy trail, and spotted nearly all of them!
And more...
- The World Burns Conference was on the 8 - 10 September. The iCentre provided 140 welcome packs and received a thank you note from the organisers for our continued support and for the information we provided.
- Wigtown Book Festival – the region’s main Year of Stories event.
- Staff attended a Dark Skies walk. A fantastic combination of stories, music and recorded spoken word with writer and adventurer Dan Richards and Dark Sky Ranger Elizabeth Tindal. Also a talk by local author and farmer Jamie Blackett, promoting his latest book, and providing a neat link between our Year of Stories activities and agritourism familiarisation trips.
- The Wild Goose Festival, based in Dumfries, celebrating the migration of tens of thousands of geese every year – we’re going to four of the events
- Pumpkins in the garden
- Litter picking as part of the VisitScotland, ‘Keep Scotland Unspoiled – the VS Way’, campaign
Related links
27/10/2022
Scotland Loves Local Gift Card
27/10/2022