Major events this year will help Tayside and Fife grab a slice of the ‘staycation” boom, it has been claimed.
Figures revealed staycations holidays held near home have helped boost turnover from within Scotland by 6% in the last year.
VisitScotland regional director Richard Pinn said Tayside and Fife are in a good position to capitalise.
He said, “Last year there was a 2.6% increase on trips to Scotland and a 4.2% increase in the number of nights visitors stayed.
“There is quite a big staycation trend on the go at the moment.”
He added, “This year is a World Cup year and a General Election year and all those have an effect on what people do, as well as the volcanic ash cloud.
“There are a lot of activities coming up like T in the Park and the Open championship in St Andrews.
“There was the game fair last weekend in Scone and obviously the Flower and Food Festival coming up in Dundee.
“It’s also Perth 800 year and it’s the Fife Year of Culture so there’s a lot going on to bring people to and keep people in the Tayside area.”
Mr Pinn said there will be events at T in the Park encouraging people to stay in Scotland.
He said, “We will have a draw for tickets for next year’s event, a chance to win adventure holidays in Scotland, while local businesses will be giving out various offers they can do either as an addition to T in the Park or at another time to generate extra spend.
“Things are positive in the Tayside area and we have various campaigns coming up, such as Autumn Moments.”
He added, “Last year the Perthshire section of the website had the highest number of visits of any area of the country.
“Events are also going on in Dundee and Fife and these are all things that will drive business to the local economy.Unprecedented challenges”People are realising there is a lot on their doorstep.”
Tourism minister Jim Mather has praised Scottish tourism’s efforts to attract more visitors from the UK in response to unprecedented challenges.
He commended the response to air travel disruptions and tough economic conditions during a visit to the Crieff Hydro Hotel yesterday.
Mr Mather said, “Scottish tourism is responding robustly to what continues to be a tough economic climate, generating £4 billion for the economy and boosting visitor numbers by 2.7% last year against a global drop of 4%.
“The sector was integral to Scotland’s recent return to economic growth and is strongly supporting the recovery.
“And, with the support of VisitScotland, ambitious and innovative tourism businesses like Crieff Hydro are continuing to demonstrate incredible resilience in their successful efforts to maximise opportunities presented by recent disruptions to air travel.”
He added, “VisitScotland is taking decisive action to support the industry by delivering £5 million of tactical campaign activity that will return £100 million in additional tourism revenue over the coming months.
“In direct response to recent challenges, much of this work focuses on attracting visitors from the UK and for the first time, particularly from within Scotland.Great valueMr Mather said, “It makes strong economic sense to encourage Scots to enjoy and explore some of the must-visit, great-value destinations on their doorstep and with the school holidays now under way there is no better time to do it.”
Crieff Hydro managing director Stephen Leckie said, “It’s clear our rising turnover comes from working with VisitScotland.
“Together we are firmly focused on getting more new people out of Scottish and British towns and cities and onto the general doorstep of Scottish tourism, which brings obvious benefits for Crieff Hydro and the local economy.”
He added, “The current weak pound makes the UK more competitive and ongoing worries over strikes and ash clouds are helping tip the balance in our favour.”