As Fife’s tourist industry gears up for a busy Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology, VisitScotland looks back at an “innovative” 2016.
Regional director for Fife, Manuela Calchini, said: “They say you have to look to the past to understand the present.
“Next year we celebrate Scotland’s fascinating history and Fife will play its part, including a wonderful opportunity to commemorate the Forth Bridge, one of Scotland’s six UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as we look forward to the opening of the new Queensferry Crossing.
“The spiritual home of whisky will once again thrive in Fife, with Lindores Abbey Distillery, whose grounds contained the earliest written evidence of whisky distillation in Scotland, due to open in 2017.
“But looking to the past – 12 months, that is – it has been another fantastic year in Fife.”
It featured two significant international events showcasing what Fife can offer. The Fairmont Hotel played host to Meet in Scotland, organised by VisitScotland’s business events team, and St Andrews became the temporary home for more than 60 golf tour operators and 70 buyers spanning 33 different countries and four continents at the first-ever Scottish Golf Tourism Week.
Innovation was found too in west Fife with the continuing transformation of the Dunfermline heritage quarter and the new Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries set to open next year.
Manuela added: “As the tourism industry moves forward it needs to embrace new technology to successfully compete in a global competitive market and digital channels, such as social media, are key to that success.”
Between April and September, the national tourism organisation showcased the region 160 times through its three main social media channels which led to more than 282,500 likes, shares, retweets and comments.
In addition, there have been more than 20 million views of the Spirit of Scotland short films.
Manuela said: “We welcomed a fantastic collaboration with the Fife Tourism Partnership to develop Come to life in Fife.
“Images and videos such as those, coupled with social media engagement, entice the growing number of visitors to the region, and it’s our duty to ensure when they arrive they have the best experience possible.”
A VIP (VisitScotland Information Partner) programme, which allows the national tourism organisation to work in partnership with businesses, was launched.
Already almost 40 businesses have signed up to the scheme from Rosyth to Anstruther.
