Visit Scotland | Alba
Article published 11/10/2022

Find out about our recent activity to support tourism recovery for Perthshire

What's included in this update?

Caroline Warburton, Regional Leadership Director, VisitScotland 


Over the last couple of weeks, we have definitely seen the season shift from summer to autumn, and with it a change of pace in terms of visitors to the region. It has been fantastic to see the strong visitor numbers to Perthshire over the summer with a noticeable rise in international visitors at our Perth and Pitlochry iCentres.  

Another welcome sight has been the return of live events from The Senior Open at Gleneagles and Crieff Highland Gathering this summer to The Enchanted Forest and The Royal National Mòd this month.  

There is nowhere better in Scotland to experience the changing of the seasons than right here in Big Tree Country with miles of stunning woodlands. Our focus continues to be on driving bookings and demand through our ongoing marketing, PR and travel trade activity. In the short-term promoting visits in our traditionally quieter seasons of autumn and winter and ensure Scotland and Perthshire remains front of mind for both domestic and international visitors.  

While visitor concerns around COVID-19 may have lessened, we know that many visitors are concerned about rising costs. This is, of course, a serious concern for businesses as well, who are having to consider how they adapt their operations to manage growing cost challenges. To help businesses access the latest advice and support, we have created a "cost of doing business resource". A link to this guide is provided in this update. 

Throughout the last couple of years, so many businesses have shown incredible resilience, agility and creativity, and this month the industry will celebrate the local finalists in the Central, Fife and Tayside regional finals of the Scottish Thistle Awards. I would like to wish all those shortlisted from Perthshire below the very best of luck.  

I hope you find the following update helpful and informative.

Marketing Perthshire

  • Working with Expedia

    Part of our Scotland is Calling activity, we've launched the latest phase of our Expedia partnership running across both the UK and US markets with the aim of boosting bookings through autumn and winter then into spring 2023. Activity includes a bookable landing page on Expedia.co.uk and Hotels.com with a focus on Scotland's cities featuring Perth. 

  • New blogs featuring Perthshire

    Take a look at some new content added to visitscotland.com featuring Perthshire:

  • New images of Perth

    Our multimedia team has captured some stunning new imagery of the Perth Art Trail. You can find these images on our Digital Media Library, which are free for you to download and use.

  • Year of Stories promotion

    We're working with the Guardian on a series of articles, combined with further social media promotion of the content.

  • Upcoming supported events

    A major event for the city - the Mòd is supported through EventScotland’s International Funding Programme. Taking place from from 14 - 22 October 2022, this eight day festival celebrates Gaelic language and culture and returns to Perth for the first time in 18 years. If you'd like to get involved, Perth & Kinross Council have created a range of business resources to make the most of this major event taking place and you can also take a look at our Gaelic Business toolkit to help you to harness this increasing global interest in our national language. 

  • Partnership marketing | Museums Gallery Scotland

    Find out how we created an online buzz for museums across Scotland’s cities - including Perth Museum and Art Gallery.

Perth PR coverage


Corporate PR team 

Our corporate PR team work closely with Scottish and UK media to raise awareness of our work to promote Scotland and Perth to visitors and support for industry. 

Some of the highlights include: 

  • Ahead of The Senior Open at Gleneagles in July, a press release was issued and Caroline Warburton took part in media interviews with BBC and STV.   

  • Knowledge and insights from our staff in our Perth and Pitlochry iCentres with a press release on the unique tales and hidden gems in the region to mark Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022.  

  • We announced the shortlist for the regional finals in the Scottish Thistle Awards.

Consumer PR team highlights:

  • In the UK, we supported a trip for journalist, Robin McKelvie, to visit Perth. As a result coverage appeared in Loveexploring.com and The National.
  • Coverage in the Times featuring the Dunkeld to Pitlochry cycling route; and the Observer (UK) mentioned the Mackintosh Building following media relations.
  • Various titles including the Sentinel (US newspaper) and The Dispatch (US online magazine) featured Gleneagles in a round-up of family resorts, including all of the activities they offer families.

Scotland's Witch Trail Map

This month (29 September) our corporate and consumer team launched a brand new trail and map exploring Scotland's tales of witchcraft to mark our Year of Stories 2022.

The downloadable guide features 15 locations and will be hosted on visitscotland.com alongside a blog taking a deeper dive on the subject and offering even more witchcraft-themed visitor experiences. 

Experiences on the map include Blair Castle in Perthshire.

Scottish Thistle Awards | the shortlist


Congratulations to the 13 businesses across Perthshire that have been shortlisted in the regional Finals of the Scottish Thistle Awards. 

  • In the "Best B&B or Guest House Experience" category - Craigmhor Lodge & Courtyard and Croft Na Coille B&B and Self Catering Cottage
  • In the "Best Hotel Experience (over 20 rooms)" category - Murraypark Hotel and Murrayshall Country Estate
  • In the "Best Hotel Experience (under 20 rooms)" category - The Kirklands Hotel
  • In the "Best Outdoor or Adventure Experience" category - Beyond Adventure and Willowgate Activity Centre
  • In the "Best Visitor Attraction Experience" category - Glenturret
  • In the "Food Tourism Award" category - Glenturret Lalique Restaurant and Thyme Deli and Bistro at Errichel
  • In the "Regional Ambassador" category - Anne Kinnes from The Black Watch Castle and Museum
  • In the "Tourism & Hospitality Hero" category - Gillian Anderson, The Glenturret and June Goodfellow, Taste Perthshire

Good luck to everyone! 

Browse the 2022 / 2023 Regional Finalists by region on the Scottish Thistles website.

Hear from our Pitlochry and Perth iCentre teams

  • Perth iCentre

    Footfall is returning to what we'd expected in the summer months and the team are still busy with lots of local requests for Citylink tickets. There are also a lot more international visitors coming into the iCentre. 

    • There are several new retail lines in the iCentre including Shop Local products, which are proving very popular for souvenirs of a stay in Perth or even some early Christmas shopping!  
    • The team are planning to have an event in the iCentre in the run-up to Christmas. 

  • Pitlochry iCentre

    Footfall has been really encouraging in Pitlochry this summer with lots of international visitors returning to the area and delighted to be able to visit / return to Scotland. A lot of these visitors are taking rescheduled trips, which had been cancelled due to COVID-19. 

    • The Highland Games and Blair Atholl Horse Trials were really well attended and led to an increase in visitors to the iCentre

    • There have been a lot of enquiries in the lead-up to the Enchanted Forest

    • There have been several very satisfied TripAdvisor reviews stating that "a visit to the iCentre is a must for help in the area" which is really encouraging

Quality in Perthshire


Well done to: 

  • Action Glen and Adventure Park at Crieff Hydro, awarded a 4 Star Activity Centre Quality Assurance award 
  • Craigellie House awarded a 5 Star Bed and Breakfast
  • Morris Leslie Villages - Ruthven Falls achieved 5 Star Small Holiday Park award 

Find out more about Quality Assurance and let us help you shine!

Short-term let legislation


New Scottish legislation for short-term lets came into effect on 1 March 2022. Learn what the legal requirements for letting a holiday property are, and how the new licensing laws in Scotland will work. Some useful resources:

1. Read more about what this means for you in our advice and guidance page.

2. Find out about Perth & Kinross Council's new short-term lets licensing system on their website.