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Visit Scotland | Alba
Article published 25/01/2023

Caroline Warburton, Destination Development Director

Welcome to the first regional update of the year. In this update, we look at our key activity to support and promote tourism in Fife during the last quarter.  

Caroline Warburton, Destination Development Director, VisitScotland

 

As we start the new year, we find our industry facing new challenges and, while it is likely these will continue in the months ahead, there is also much to build on and look forward to in 2023.   

We remain committed to doing what we can to support our industry. Whether it is bringing visitors to the region, offering support and guidance to businesses or working with partners to create opportunities for growth.  

Our marketing, funding and business support activities are all aimed at supporting recovery and the responsible growth of this important sector of the local economy. 

The last quarter has been a busy period in Fife – from autumn and winter marketing campaigns to help boost visitor numbers to securing UK and International media coverage, working with partners on the launch of the new Forth Bridges Trail and hosting a Fife food and drink tasting event at our St Andrews iCentre.  

Find out more in this update about how our work in the region is helping to support the ambitions of the national tourism strategy, Scotland Outlook 2030, for Scotland to be a world leader in 21st century tourism.  

Marketing Fife

Fife on our social channels (October - December)

3.54 million reach

Number of times Fife content reached people on their social channels

255,000 engagements

Reactions, likes, comments, shares and saves on Fife posts

Reach of 435,500

Top performing post by reach on Facebook was a sunset shot of Pittenweem

Fife corporate PR coverage

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:

  • The launch of our Great Days Out in Scotland campaign featuring St Andrews Cathedral. 
  • Our new Set in Scotland guide featuring films shot in Fife. These include Chariots of Fire (1981) and Outlaw King (2018). We also generated national and regional coverage on STV and Fife Free Press.
  • We celebrated Morton of Pitmilly crowned a winner at the Scottish Thistle Regional Awards.
  • We promoted the St Andrews iCentre tasting event to local media and on social media.  
  • We supported the launch of the Forth Bridges Trail, a new walking and wheeling route with great views of the Forth Bridges. The Trail was developed by the Forth Bridges Tourism Group, of which we are a partner. The launch generated coverage in STV, The National and Fife Free Press

To view all the press releases visit our media centre. 

Consumer PR team highlights:

An update from St Andrews iCentre

Locals and visitors to St Andrews were able to sample the finest artisan food and drink as part of a special event held St Andrews iCentre in November, coinciding with the town's “Big Hoolie” celebrations.

The event aimed to celebrate the region’s local producers and encouraged both residents and visitors to embark on their own culinary adventures across Fife.

Our friendly and knowledgeable staff were on hand to promote the wide range of visitor experiences that Fife has to offer.

Local panto stars Snow White and Nanny Ticklepenny gate-crashed the St Andrew's Day Tasting Event at St Andrews iCentre

Local panto stars Snow White and Nanny Ticklepenny joined the St Andrew's Day tasting event at St Andrews iCentre. Credit Colin McKillop.

Year of Stories highlights for 2022

  • Influencer campaign

    Influencer activity took place across October and November through a series of videos. We worked with influencer Megan, a food and drink ambassador, based in Aberdeen.

    One of the videos Megan posted was filmed in Falkland, Fife and received almost 400,000 views.

  • Great Days Out campaign

    We partnered with News UK and Reach PLC to showcase a range of attractions through a series of online articles. The attractions featured were all part of our current Great Days Out campaign.

    A series of articles went live across a range of national and regional newspapers. Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum and the Scottish Fisheries Museum featured in The Sun.

  • Community Stories Fund campaign

    The Arctic Ventures: Forgotten Stories of Scottish Whaling event which took place in Fife was one of the many events supported by the Year of Stories Community Stories Fund.

    The events were promoted across various newspaper titles in October as well as display ads, social media posts and online articles.

  • Industry stories campaign

    In November we ran a campaign working with our previous Scottish Thistle Awards winners. This activity showcased the winners and their stories in articles across various newspapers and online websites.

    • Fife business - Catchpenny Safari Lodges featured in the Edinburgh Live online article

Fife Thistle Award winners

Good luck to all the Thistle Award finalists - Morton of Pitmilly and the 150th Open both from Fife! Both will go on to compete at the Scottish Thistle Awards National Final on 9 February 2023 at Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

Scottish Thistle Awards regional winners featuring Perthshire
Regional Thistle Winners. Image credit - Chris Watt Photography.

You can browse the 2022/2023 National Finalists on the Scottish Thistle Awards website.

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