The Irish Do It Much Better

In the past week or two few could fail to hear or read that it's 100 years since the Titanic met its tragic fate.

Whether you find the MS Balmoral's re-enactment of the Titanic's tragic maiden voyage goulish or the adventure of a lifetime is a personal matter, but there's no doubt the centenary of one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters has captured the imagination of many willing to spend thousands of pounds for a piece of history.

The Irish have promoted the occasion perfectly, just as they promote their country - both north and south of the border. Who would have thought that 50 years ago expensive world tours, more often than not, would have included a visit to Belfast or Dublin as a highlight of the trip?

London is another 'essential' destination and Edinburgh features reasonably frequently.

But how does Ireland achieve such exceptional visitor numbers in comparison to Scotland? The Ring of Kerry is certainly quite breathtaking and the Atlantic coastline atmospheric, but the roads are shocking and each wee town seems to contain more souvenir shops than butchers, bakers and grocers combined.

It's all down to marketing as we discussed in the previous post. The Irish know how to market their product and have gained a world-wide audience. Tourists arriving in Belfast or Dublin are shown the whole country and not just the cities.

Scotland has been poorly served by its official tourist organisation VisitScotland, even though millions of pounds of taxpayers' money has been ploughed into it annually. Many tours visiting Scotland only include Edinburgh, (with a day visit to St Andrews for those interested in golf) and a day trip to Loch Ness and/or Skye - all places which receive far more investment than other parts of the country. One of the most spectacular castles I've ever visited is seldom mentioned in official literature, although I'm sure if it was in Ireland it would feature repeatedly.

The difference between Irish and Scottish marketing is obvious. Ireland sells its people as well as its scenery, culture and history. Scotland relies upon its superb scenery and has, in recent years, tried to dismiss its culture of tartan and ceilidhs, in an attempt to appeal to international visitors. However, that has backfired as studies in the US prove that many Americans still regard Scotland as part of England or - even worse - haven't heard of it.

Is it time Scotland took a leaf out of Ireland's shamrock and developed historic events?  An example is our excellent re-enactment societies, some which encourage public participation (after a little training). War is never glorious, but like the Titanic story, it intrigues. If a part could be found for me at Prestonpans in September, I'd be happy to attend; not only to experience history, but to see first hand just how futile and destructive battle can be.

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Could This Be Scotland's Next Extreme Sport?

Next month the Scottish highlands will see the introduction of a sport which is either for the brave or foolish, I can't decide. What does matter is the safety of participants and that would seem to have been assessed thoroughly. Every sport carries risk or injury - some more than others.

Horse riders are ten a penny in this part of the country, probably because there are large stables nearby.  The animals are used to traffic and the locals respect their presence on the roads.  But riding holidays aren't common even in such a peaceful and scenic landscape and I've never understood why.

Could all that change with the introduction of cow riders?  It does sound rather extreme and a little ridiculous to suggest that cows could be ridden round the byways of Perthshire, but if it can be done in Bavaria and Switzerland why not here?

When Regina Mayer asked her parents if she could have a horse the answer was a flat no, but the young Bavarian girl wasn't deterred.  She decided to train a cow, named Luna, not long after it was born two years ago.  It seemed the sensible solution because her family own a dairy farm so there was plenty choice.  Bribery is heavily involved in Luna's training - carrots and sugar - but the evidence is there in the photograph which shows her jumping over a metre.  The local veterinarian has ensured her that jumping isn't dangerous for her 'pet'.

Now that Regina is 15 and has mastered the art of cow riding her parents have said they plan to get her a horse so Luna will be pensioned off.

Despite the relative rarity of Regina's hobby, cow riding isn't unheard of, as a quick google proves.  The Swiss have been offering cow trekking for years.

The Swiss could teach us a thing or two about their governance system and attitude to the EU, so why not cow trekking? We've cows aplenty in Scotland and trekking could be a 'nice little earner' for hard pressed farmers.  It's not too extreme a thought is it?

source

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Another Quango Unfit for Purpose

VisitScotland, that bastion of all things Scottish, the main promoters to the tourist world of our hills, glens, shortbread, whisky and bonnie lassies dancing the Highland fling, are all set to spend yet more taxpayers' money.

Somewhere within its corridors of power, someone has decided they didn't like the word 'tourist' in the title of information centres. It's not really appropriate to call these places Tourist Information Centres is it when it sounds so much better to call them VisitScotland Information Centres - VICs for the likes of you and me. Tourists will fully approve I'm sure. VICs, TICs, it doesn't really matter much but what does matter is that the change is going to cost £500,000.

This is an organisation funded from the taxpayer and their client group the tourist industry. Their client income has been reduced this year and in 2008 they received £48,351,000 from the Scottish government.

At a time when businesses are being careful with their finances there are no such attempts from the promoters of our culture. VisitScotland states, "Buildings (internally and externally) are in the main tired and there is no synergy in terms of signage, branding and themes." The centrepiece of the changes is a logo designed by the Glasgow-based Curious Group - a stick with a round end. It is described as: 'This mixture of form and the chosen purple gives the logo a personality that is both masculine and feminine and a mark that is distinctive and approachable.'

Have you ever heard such nonsense? So there we have it, Scotland's promoter of tourism has a new logo of a stick with a round end. Just what everyone wants and many would like to beat them with.

Until a few years ago the Perth office was in the High Street, right in the heart of the town. It always seemed to be a busy place. Suddenly and without explanation, it was moved to the perimeter of the main shopping area, into an old mill which cost an arm and a leg to renovate. This present office is tucked away off the main road down a cul de sac and sandwiched between a hotel and large car parks. No wonder their footfall numbers have dropped radically, it's nearly impossible to give directions to it even if you know the town well.

It's time the Scottish government looked carefully at the funding for this quango. Their decision makers leave a lot to be desired.

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