Big £2 million tourism drive for Loch Ness and wider Highlands
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The Nordic countries, France, Germany, the US and even Australia could be targeted by a £2 million tourism campaign that organisers believe has the potential to attract an extra 50,000 visitors from overseas to the Loch Ness, Inverness and wider Highlands each year.
Extensive newspaper, magazine and television advertising, coupled with digital marketing may be included in a strategy to spend the money in what are considered key tourism markets.
Business-to-business activity with tour operators and travel agents might also take place.
It is expected that £500,000 per year will be spent on the campaign over the next four years.
The investment is coming from the UK Government and it is forecast that the activity could generate an extra £3.5 million per year for businesses in the area – equating to around £14 milllion in additional tourism spend during the course of the campaign.
The initiative – which is part of national tourism agency VisitBritain’s GREAT Britain campaign designed to boost inbound tourism – is set to be rolled out in April.
Between now and then VisitBritain will decide the best way to spend the money, working alongside VisitScotland as well as Inverness and Loch Ness Tourism Business Improvement District (BID) – the first tourism BID in the UK and responsible for driving forward tourism in the Inverness and Loch Ness area.
Patricia Yates, director of strategy and communications at VisitBritain, said: "We will have to propose something that the GREAT campaign is happy with.
"We will be working closely with the tourism BID to make sure that they are happy as well.
"Our strength is that we know international markets and the people on the ground know that area much better than we will, so we’ll be working together.
"This is the start of a process and we will do it very quickly because we want to start rolling it out but we don’t have a set plan yet. We will engage with the local tourism BID to see what their ambitions are and what we think would work and put the two together."
Latest international figures available show that Inverness regularly attracts more than 200,000 overseas visits a year and it is expected that this campaign has the potential to see the figure reach 250,000. Although the strategy has to be finalised, it is certain that the Loch Ness monster will feature as part of the campaign.
It comes 10 months after the tourism BID was established following a ballot of businesses.
Colin Marr, chairman of the tourism BID, said: "We very much look forward to working with VisitBritain to help maximise the impact of their campaign activity which will not only provide a substantial boost to local businesses but do much to ensure a more competitive and sustainable local tourism industry.
"This money for VisitBritain means that they take care of the international marketing, which is absolutely brilliant for us and will give us exposure in markets that we just couldn’t afford to get near normally."
Graeme Ambrose, chief executive of the tourism BID, said: "This is all about getting people to come here and stay longer."
Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, announced the investment during a visit to Dores.
"Loch Ness is one of the most iconic places in the world," he said. "Children in every country in the world know about the mystery of the Loch Ness monster, yet we don’t make enough of it from a marketing point of view.
"There is already a business-led drive to improve this destination and the marketing of it and I think that’s what made me think that government should get behind it.
"With local businesses now working to improve the destination, it is right that VisitBritain step in to help make more of this iconic destination. Visitors attracted by the mystery of Loch Ness will discover a part of the country with much more to offer."
Businesses pay an annual levy to the Inverness and Loch Ness Tourism BID, which will be used to market Inverness and Loch Ness as a single destination and improve the visitor experience.
More than 350 tourism businesses were balloted on plans to create a tourism BID last year. A total of 152 businesses voted in the ballot, with 123 in favour and 29 against.
The tourism BID is separate from Inverness BID, which represents city centre businesses only.
