All aboard as firms look ahead to 2020
Exciting times lie ahead for the west coast of Scotland with an innovative collaboration set to make the most of 2020 Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters.
Eighteen destination marketing organisations from across the West Coast have each volunteered funding support from £500 to £2,500 for an ambitious marketing campaign aimed at encouraging people from across Scotland and the UK to make 2020 the year they experience the west coast and get on – if not in – the water.
The collaboration, which spans from Lewis and Wester Ross to Arran and Cumbrae, came together in 2017, initially to scope out what the marine tourism offer actually looks like on the west coast. This work was coordinated by Argyll and the Isles Tourism Cooperative and funded by HIE. Those involved include CalMac, VisitScotland, SailScotland, HIE, UHI WHC and local council partners.
The results showed there are 300 hubs where people can get on and off the water – and, importantly, set out what experiences are available and if the hub could be categorised as ‘2020-ready’.
One hundred of the hubs give access to a seafood experience, 120 give access to a castle or heritage attraction, 44 to a distillery open to the public and 106 offer excellent marine wildlife spotting opportunities. There are around 500 operators and clubs providing marine experiences.
The information gathered highlights the massive opportunities to grow marine tourism across the west coast.
Following this scoping, some very exciting project ideas are now being developed and funding applications submitted.
The first is to VisitScotland for a growth fund award of £80,000 for the campaign. Match funding is in place from the individual DMO partners, Argyll and Bute Council, Lochaber Chamber of Commerce and WildScotland, and a written commitment is in place with SailScotland for ongoing partnership working and mutual support for their campaign activity which will specifically focus on the sailing offer across Scotland.
The collaboration represents in excess of
2,000 business interests.
Other projects are being developed to celebrate the Year of Coasts and Waters, including a challenge event, a tourist route connecting the islands and the mainland, and interpretation of the incredible maritime heritage of the west coast.
Iain Jurgensen, chairman of AITC, said: ‘We have been completely blown away by the buy in at a pan west coast level. When the scoping project concluded with such a rich understanding of the scale of opportunity to grow marine tourism across the west coast, we could immediately see that 2020 offered us all scope to do something really special that would have a lasting legacy. We are very excited about what lies ahead for the west coast, and sharing these plans as they develop.’