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A MARKETING CAMPAIGN that seeks to promote Moray/Speyside through direct engagement with the travel trade has received a funding boost of over £12,000.
The growth fund cash has been awarded by VisitScotland to Moray Speyside Tourism (MST), which is part of the Moray Chamber of Commerce, and will help in ‘destination marketing’ through the #madeinmoray campaign.
The campaign has been developed as a result of previous engagement with the travel trade and will use MST’s five key themes (Landscape & Nature; History, Heritage & Culture; Food & Drink; Action, Adventure & Outdoors and Shopping & Staying) to demonstrate to operators offering small group tours that Moray Speyside is an ideal destination to experience the best of Scotland in miniature.
Activity will focus on Moray’s key target markets of Netherlands, Germany, USA and Canada, with the option to extend into secondary markets of Australia and New Zealand. As part of the campaign, three 90-second videos will be created which will be supplied to 20 targeted operators.
Five themed itineraries will also be created for travel trade and Moray Speyside Tourism staff will attend key travel trade events, including VisitScotland Business Development Missions, the UKinbound annual conference 2018, ITB in Berlin and World Travel market 2018.
In April 2017, Moray Speyside Tourism led regional representation at VisitScotland expo and over the course of the two-day event, held 335 business meetings with representatives from over 30 countries. Feedback indicated demand to develop new product programmes or to extend existing nearby routes and itineraries into Moray Speyside.
VisitScotland Growth Fund supports national, regional and sectoral tourism groups across Scotland to deliver partnership marketing campaigns and constituted groups can apply for awards of £10,000 to £40,000.
Jo Robinson, VisitScotland Regional Director, said: “Moray Speyside is a fantastic destination in its own right and I am delighted that we are able to help pin the region firmly on the map with the help of Growth Fund money.
“The #madeinmoray marketing campaign is a fantastic way of promoting the region using its key strengths. There is a clear desire from the travel trade for new product programmes, refreshed itineraries and themed packages for clients and the Moray Speyside Tourism team have demonstrated that this is their key focus.
“We promote Scotland with Scotland. Partnership and collaboration is at the heart of Scottish tourism and VisitScotland works with local industry to develop and deliver innovative initiatives that grow the visitor economy.”
Laurie Piper, Tourism Operations Manager at Moray Speyside Tourism, said: “As a small organisation with a limited budget, being able to access Growth Fund support is crucial to MST continuing to build Moray Speyside’s profile as a world-class destination.
“This year is especially important as our #madeinmoray campaign will be the first Growth Fund campaign to focus on B2B and engaging directly with the travel trade as opposed to consumers.”
For more information on the VisitScotland Growth Fund, visit www.visitscotland.org/growthfund.