Joint approach to tourism

The team working on a bid for £1.8 billion of investment across Tayside has been given the lowdown on Perth and Kinross Council’s latest plans for a visitor boom.

Tay Cities Deal leaders heard how a series of largescale projects could lead to a step-change in the region’s tourism performance.

The £20 million overhaul of Perth City Hall is part of a wider plan to boost the number of visitors and encourage more people to spend more time in the area.

The local authority believes its efforts to lure visitors will complement the new V&A in Dundee and help establish “Scotland’s Tay Country”.

Growing tourism across the neighbouring authority areas will help create jobs by lengthening the visitor season, leaders were told.

Fife’s tourism partnership manager Ann Camus said the regions were working together on a “collaborative approach to tourism promotion across the Tay area”.

She said: “This will link the new tourism assets being supported through the Tay Cities Deal, with exciting infrastructure projects like the Tay Adventure project, connecting all four areas via a water taxi service and bringing the Firth of Tay to life with additional vessels in the summer months.”

If successful, the “once-in-alifetime” Tay Cities Deal could provide crucial government funding for a range of local projects.