Chapel joins new tourism partnership

Rosslyn Chapel has joined a new alliance with tourism partners and the Councils in Midlothian, East Lothian and West Lothian to encourage more groups to visit the Lothians. The new partnership has secured funding from VisitScotland’s Growth Fund.

Together the three Lothians areas were awarded £11,900 from the Growth Fund to target the travel trade market. Following the inaugural meeting at historic Newbattle Abbey, the Lothians came together to finalise how the awarded funding will be used to develop the group travel market across the Lothians. The project will focus on a range of promotional activities over the coming year, including the development of a new website, attendance at a number of key trade shows and hosting of familiarisation trips. 2015 will mark the Year of Food and Drink and will see the Lothians incorporating some of the top home grown food, from partners such as Macdonald Houstoun House and Marine Hotels, into the activity. Working with over 21 venues, Visit West Lothian and East and Midlothian Councils will be able to showcase the fantastic facilities available to visitors – from Rosslyn Chapel, Hopetoun House, and the National Museum of Flight, to sites such as the Livingston Designer Outlet and Glenkinchie Distillery. There will be no shortage of remarkable attractions and activities on offer to keep groups with different interests entertained.

Ian Gardner, Director of Rosslyn Chapel Trust and from the project steering group, said: “We are delighted to have brought the 3 Lothian areas together to secure funding from the VisitScotland Growth Fund. Partnering with the Lothians will allow us to build on the successes we have achieved individually to date and continue to encourage tourism to the area. We hope to entice more groups to the Lothians and encourage them to stay longer and explore the vast range of attractions we collectively boast. We will also be working with group travel operators to highlight the premium offerings available and to offer a more compelling visitor package.”

Manuela Calchini, Regional Director at VisitScotland, said: “It is terrific to see that the three Lothians regions have joined forces to such great effect, pooling their resources and promoting the many wonderful things to see and do in each area. The VisitScotland Growth Fund is all about encouraging tourism businesses to work together, and we are delighted to support this partnership which I am sure will be very effective in attracting more group tours to the Lothians.”

The VistScotland Growth Fund is designed to support a range of regional, national and sectoral groups to deliver marketing campaigns to UK and International audiences, with the aim of increasing visitors to the area and reaching new target markets.

Posted in Tourism