STUNNING new videos to inspire visitors to ‘connect to their adventure’ in Fort William and Lochaber, the ‘Outdoor Capital of the UK‘ (OCUK), and to encourage them to share their holiday experiences online, are to be created thanks to a £40,000 grant from VisitScotland, Scotland’s national tourism organisation.
Launched in the spectacular surroundings of Glen Nevis, the campaign will include the development of a suite of online films to be shared on the OCUK’s website and social media channels.
The videos, which will be both 11 and 55-seconds in length, will show that Lochaber not only boasts an outstanding array of outdoor activities, such as mountaineering, walking, snow and water sports and mountain biking, but also stunning wildlife and fascinating heritage – including the Glenfinnan Viaduct, The Old Fort and the West Highland Museum, as well as top class food, drink and welcoming accommodation.
The videos will also show how accessible the OCUK is for all, with visitors from throughout the UK able to ‘connect to their adventure’ via the Caledonian Sleeper.
VisitScotland, has match-funded the OCUK’s exciting new digital campaign through its Growth Fund, while OCUK will also benefit from a further £20,000 from the Highland LEADER Programme.
The digital campaign will target UK-based consumers, including ’20-something’ single travellers who are looking to wow their social media followers with spectacular images and video; families looking for a holiday that offers multiple activities; and members of the ‘Baby Boom generation’ who have a high-level of income and enjoy self-guided tours and sampling locally sourced food and drink.
Scott Armstrong, VisitScotland’s regional director for the Highlands, said: “We are thrilled to give this Growth Fund award to the ‘Outdoor Capital of the UK’, so that the group can continue its excellent work in promoting all that this stunning part of the world has to offer. I’m sure the new digital campaign will prove a great success and inspire many more people to enjoy an unforgettable break in Lochaber.”
With a strong emphasis on user-generated content, visitors to the region will be encouraged to share their experiences on social media using the hashtag, #myoutdoorcapital.
Using the hashtag will also give adventurers the opportunity to win breaks in Lochaber and other fantastic prizes throughout the year.
Chris O’Brien, destination manager of ‘Outdoor Capital of the UK’ (Lochaber Chamber of Commerce), said: “VisitScotland, LEADER and a huge number of local businesses have given us the opportunity to put together a digital campaign that will reach millions of people and share with them the stories of Lochaber, inspiring them to join us in the ‘Outdoor Capital of the UK’ for a wee adventure and to add to our tales by using the hashtag, #myoutdoorcapital.”
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Media contacts:
For interviews, images and further information please contact:
Paddy Cuthbert | Littlehouse Media | E: paddy@littlehousemedia.uk.com
M: +44 (0)7913 951717; or
Tom Maxwell | VisitScotland | E: Tom.maxwell@visitscotland.com | T: 0131 472 2409
Photo caption: John Fotherinham, chair of the Lochaber local area partnership, The Highland LEADER Programme, and Scott Armstrong, VisitScotland’s regional director for the Highlands, ‘frame’ Jodie Fraser and Chris O’Brien of the ‘Outdoor Capital of the UK’ at the campaign launch in Glen Nevis.
Photo credit: John Paul/VisitScotland
A selection of images of the launch can be downloaded here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/s1hz7o6xk6btrla/AAD4ccBAvnawXSHNZbstZ6G3a?dl=0
Useful websites and social media channels:
Lochaber Chamber of Commerce – http://www.lochaberchamber.co.uk/
The Outdoor Capital of the UK – http://www.outdoorcapital.co.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Outdoor_Capital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Outdoorcapitaluk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outdoorcapitaluk
To find out more about the VisitScotland Growth Fund – http://www.visitscotland.org/growthfund
VisitScotland on Twitter – https://twitter.com/VisitScotNews
For further information on Scottish LEADER programme from Scottish Rural Network, go to: https://www.ruralnetwork.scot/funding/leader
For information on the ‘Outdoor Capital of the UK’ funded project got to https://www.outdoorcapital.co.uk/connect-adventure-raising-profile-lochaber/
Notes to editors:
The ‘Outdoor Capital of the UK’ is Lochaber Chamber of Commerce’s tourism element. Under the OCUK brand, the Chamber of Commerce publicise, sponsor and promote Lochaber as a leading tourist destination within the UK. The ‘Outdoor Capital of the UK’ website is the site to go to for local events, activity providers and visitor accommodation in Lochaber – http://www.outdoorcapital.co.uk/
Through a range of collaborative marketing initiatives and activities the organisation promotes Fort William and Lochaber as the ‘best place’ in the UK for everyone to experience the outdoors; with a view to developing local jobs and wealth and encouraging sustainable economic growth – #myoutdoorcapital.
Visitors interested in the outdoors are very important to the economy and community of Lochaber. There are over 65 different activities to choose from in an amazing landscape that encompasses the small isles to Ben Nevis with White Water Rivers, sea, lochs, beaches, forest, glens, cliffs and mountains in between.
VisitScotland
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and international engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about five per cent of total Scottish GDP
- The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Programme. For further information visit www.gov.scot or follow @scotgovESIF
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business tourism in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
- 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology – 2017 is the year to delve into the past and discover Scotland’s fascinating stories through a wide-ranging variety of new and existing activity to drive the nation’s tourism and events sector, boosting tourism across Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology begins on 1 January 2017 and will end on 31 December 2017. It will build on the momentum generated by previous themed years in Scotland including the 2015 Year of Food and Drink, Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Built Environment Forum Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is supported by £570,000 of Scottish Government funding.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
- More information visit visitscotland.com/HHA2017 or join the conversation at #HHA2017
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