Perthshire event’s boost to economy

The European Eventing Championships at Blair Castle last year delivered a £4.13 million boost to Scotland’s economy.

A Sheffield Hallam University study said the event attended by the Queen attracted 63,405 visitors.

Almost 40% of the spectators said attending the trials was their main reason for coming to Scotland.

Accommodation played a key role in the economic impact, with 89% of visitors staying locally for at least one night, and almost 25,000 bed nights contributing £1.08m to the total.

The Scotland-wide total spend on items other than accommodation was £1.99m. The event also received 268 hours of television broadcast worldwide, reaching 34.4m viewers.

Paul Bush, VisitScotland’s director of events, said: “The FEI European Eventing Championships were a tremendous occasion for Scotland and had an incredibly positive impact on both local and national economies, encouraging an influx of visitors to Perthshire.

“The event also generated terrific exposure for one of the country’s most scenic areas through worldwide media coverage.

“This created the potential for further inbound tourism, representing a significant legacy impact.”

He hoped the event would inspire many of the visitors to return for this year’s Blair Castle Equi-Trek International Horse Trials.

Andrew Bruce Wootton, general manager of Atholl Estates, which employs 85 staff, said: “We are gearing up for another Blair Castle Horse Trials this year from August 25 to 28. The event is extremely good news for the local economy and for Scotland.”

The Queen presented medals at last year’s event.