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Visit Scotland | Alba
Article published 07/11/2024

New festival could help boost seasonal tourism 

A new winter festival in Angus is encouraging visitors to explore the great outdoors, in a push to extend the traditional visitor season in the region.  

The Angus Outdoor Adventure Winter Festival starts tomorrow Friday 8 November, and runs until Sunday 17 November.  

It will highlight the range of activities the region offers during the winter months. Everything from hiking to mountain biking, fly fishing to refreshing pond dooks.  

The festival aligns with the national sustainable tourism strategy. It focuses on encouraging the regional and seasonal spread of visitors, extending the benefits of tourism across the year.  

The region’s great outdoors is already popular with visitors to the area.  Findings from our recent Scotland Visitor Survey reveal that around three quarters of visitors to Angus mentioned the scenery and landscape as a reason for planning their trip to Scotland. Almost a third of visitors cited outdoor activities.  

The festival is organised by Angus Tourism Cooperative, and supported by Visit Angus. It’s  also supported by Angus Rural Partnership with funding from the Scottish Government’s Rural Community-Led Local Development Fund 2024-2025, which is part of the Scottish Rural Development Programme.

The full Visitor Survey 2023 can be found on VisitScotland.org.

 

Cyclist next to Scurdie Ness lighthouse looking at the view. Credit: Visit Angus/Alan Richardson

With its stunning landscapes and rich natural and built heritage it’s no wonder that activities in Angus’s great outdoors are an important part of the experience for visitors.

The Angus Outdoor Adventure Winter Festival is a fantastic creative way of capitalising on their popularity and inspiring visitors to explore the region during the traditionally quieter months.

Encouraging seasonal spread and helping tourism and events to extend the season are a key part of our work to make Scotland a must-visit, must-return year-round destination. It is events like these which support our national goals and support the region’s valuable visitor economy.

Caroline Warburton, Destination Development Director, VisitScotland

We are delighted to enable this first pilot festival to come together. We have been amazed at the creativity of members to host events outdoors in November, it shows that there is much to explore, take part in and discover. Working together with Angus Alive, Angus Cycle Hub and Visit Angus has shown the benefits of co-creative projects, and we look forward to building on our festivals next year.

Norma Lyall, Development Worker, Angus Tourism Cooperative

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