Unesco tourism trail to showcase world-class sites across Scotland
A new national trail showcasing Scotland’s world-class natural landscapes, cultural cities and historic buildings, landmarks and monuments has been unveiled.
Tourism and heritage organisations have joined forces with the Scottish Government to raise awareness of 13 sites officially recognised by Unesco for their international importance.
The world’s first official “Unesco Trail,” which has been created under a wider initiative to promote responsible tourism in Scotland, has been launched ahead of the staging of the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow.
Aimed at helping to transforming Scotland into an internationalleaderinresponsible tourism, the trail draws together all of Scotland’s Unesco-recognised World Heritage sites, Cities of Culture, biospheres and geoparks.
It has been unveiled weeks after the country kick-started efforts to bring international visitors back by encouraging them to embrace “slow travel,” spend more time in one place, seek out lesser-known destinations, and explore environmentally-friendly options for travel to and around Scotland.
Scotland’s Unesco Trail will encourage visitors to seek out and consider extended stays in the north-west Highlands, the Shetland Isles, Neolithic Orkney, Galloway and southern Ayrshire.
Other highlights include the architecture of the Forth Bridge, the purpose-built 18th century mill village at New Lanark, the isolated archipelago of St Kilda in the North Atlantic Ocean, and the remains of the Antonine Wall, which stretched across the country and date back to around 142 AD.
Glasgow’s official Unesco status as a city of music, Dundee’s design city status and Edinburgh’s city of literature badge marking its literary and publishing heritage are all being celebrated as part of the new campaign.
Professor Anne Anderson, non-executive director at the UK National Commission for Unesco said: “The trail is a world-first bringing together Scotland’s world-class cultural and natural heritage.
“Visitors from around the world will rediscover Scotland’s unique treasures, know they are travelling sustainably, and contribute to the communities who maintain these precious places.”
The new trail, which is being funded with £360,000 from the Scottish Government to get it off the ground, is being promoted via a dedicated website and a short film.
Rob Dickson, Visitscotland’s director of industry and development, said: “The innovative trail not only showcases the breadth of culturally astounding Unesco designations we have across Scotland but also the exceptional visitor experiences this trail creates.
“Visitscotland is focused on the recovery of the industry, building a destination and visitor experience which allows tourism and events to flourish now and in the future. We’ll continue to work with, and support, businesses to ensure we rebuild this vital part of Scotland’s economy.”
Scottish tourism minister Ivan Mckee said: “as we approach COP26, I’m pleased to see that the UNESCO trail has sustainability at its core.”