'The winning years' — Scotland's tourism chief excited by potential of V&A museum at Dundee
Scotland's tourism chief says the V&A at Dundee could become as famous as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, delivering a major cash injection not just to the city but across Courier territory.
Mr Long and Mr Cantlay inspecting the plans.
- By Craig McManamon
- Published in the Courier : 28.07.11
- Published online : 28.07.11 @ 09.48am
VisitScotland chairman Mike Cantlay said the £45 million project offers a "huge opportunity" to attract people to the east coast, creating a lucrative knock-on effect to businesses and attractions.
Mr Cantlay, appointed by Scottish Government ministers last year, made the statement during a visit to Tayside on Wednesday where he met new director of the V&A Dundee Philip Long to discuss the landmark development.
In an interview with The Courier beforehand, he said he expects the iconic building, to be sited at Craig Harbour on the banks of the River Tay, to play a crucial role in marketing the country to visitors in the future, which in turn will help drive Scotland out of the financial doldrums.
"Around £2 billion worth of investment is ongoing or about to get under way in the tourism and leisure industry in Scotland, bringing thousands of new jobs and exciting new developments to the country," he said.
"To be investing in tourism at this point in time, and with the kind of events that we are going to see such as the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Ryder Cup and the Homecoming, all the way to 2014, leaves me to believe that this period over the next three years will potentially be what we are describing as the 'winning years' and an opportunity to change Scottish tourism.
"The V&A at Dundee is a fantastic project — not just for Dundee, but for the whole of Scotland. Next year is the Year of Creative Scotland, which will shine a spotlight on this country's creative assets, and I'm sure the V&A at Dundee will build upon and benefit from this legacy."
Businesses in Angus, Perthshire and Fife will also see the benefits of V&A Dundee, Mr Cantlay said. The recent 'staycations' trend had created exciting opportunities to attract more people to the area for short breaks.
"It may be that you have someone who visits the V&A and then decides they want to play golf up the coast at Carnoustie, so there will be benefits to local tourism there," he added.
"Dundee is accessible with its own airport, great rail and road links, and I believe there is a great opportunity to support different areas of leisure tourism. Other elements such as golf, the appeal of the Angus countryside, the wonderful coastline and the fair city of Perth all work together to create a quite special visitor destination."
Continued...
05.54pm - 28.07.2011 Bri - Dundee, UK Report This
The V&A was attracted to Dundee because we have one of the top art schools in Britain, Malmaison are coming to Dundee because of the V&A, Superdry are coming to the Overgate to meet this untapped marker. Things rae definitely looking up in Dundee.
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