Industry Update: Campaign boost for tourism in Caithness and Sutherland
Tourism businesses in Caithness and Sutherland have been given a much-needed boost this autumn and winter as part of a nationwide marketing campaign led by the destination management organisation, Venture North.
Venture North teamed up with over 250 tourism businesses, local community groups and industry partners across the region to help extend the season and bring business to local visitor economies over the quieter autumn and winter months with a focus on responsible and sustainable tourism.
The organisation’s ‘Space to Breathe’ campaign has already reached over 30 million people across the UK and boosted digital engagement with the region by over 700% this autumn and winter.
The campaign has been geared towards promoting reasons to visit and explore Caithness and Sutherland from October to March, showcasing areas that are less impacted by over-tourism and can accommodate visitors in the quieter season, as well as highlighting the long-established relationship between tourism and wellbeing.
As part of the campaign, Venture North devised a series of 14 suggested themed itineraries to help visitors explore Caithness and Sutherland and launched a series of five short films to showcase the region to visitors across the UK, including London, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds. Campaign themes included Health and Wellbeing, Active Outdoors, Heritage, Wildlife and Culture, and Luxury Highlands.
Special food and drinks events welcomed hundreds of visitors from across Scotland and the rest of the UK, including Dornoch Whisky Festival in October, ‘Taste North’ in Wick and ‘The Far North Spirits & Beer Festival’, an inaugural spirits and beer festival that took place across the far north throughout November. Individual businesses and venues that took part in the line-up of events included 8 Doors Distillery, John O’Groats; Caithness Smokehouse, Barrock; and Tartan Creations, Dornoch.
Cathy Earnshaw is Destination Strategy Manager for Venture North and leads the Tourism Recovery Strategy for Caithness and Sutherland. She said:
“We’d like to thank all our business members, local communities and partners for helping to make our ‘Space to Breathe’ campaign such a huge success, reaching a UK-wide audience of well over 30 million people this autumn and winter.
“This is a fantastic achievement for a small team working with great suppliers, and really goes to show the power of effective collaboration to maximise the benefits of the visitor economy in the far north Scottish Highlands, as well as highlighting the long-established relationship between tourism and wellbeing.
“There’s so much for visitors to see and do in Caithness and Sutherland during this quieter time of year. As part of the campaign, we’ve been able to showcase areas that are less impacted by over-tourism, including some of the best accommodation, visitor attractions, outdoor activities and events on offer from October to March, and beyond.”
Oldshoremore Retreats and Connell Outdoor Pursuits in Sutherland, and Caithness View Luxury Farm Lodges are amongst the list of top staycation and activity providers who have already benefited from the campaign.
Angela Johnson, owner of Oldshoremore Retreats, near Kinlochbervie, said:
“Working with Venture North has really put our small business on the map and we’ve seen a great uptake in bookings. People are much more aware of who we are and what we do and it’s been a very successful campaign for us.
“We’ve always been strong advocates for collaboration with other businesses and this has proven how worthwhile that can be. A big thanks to Venture North for all its efforts.”
Sharon Mackay, owner of Caithness View Luxury Farm Lodges, near Wick, added:
“As a member of Venture North, we were delighted to have had the opportunity to participate in the ‘Ultimate Getaway’ competition by offering a two night stay at Caithness View Luxury Farm Lodges.
“This type of collaborative campaign helps to not only showcase the area and the many wonderful places to see and activities to enjoy, but also gets the message across that Caithness is a year-round destination to visit.
“Thanks to Venture North’s competition, Caithness, Sutherland and the participating businesses have had some great exposure. We’ve seen our own social media followers increase by 8% as a consequence, which will hopefully bring about more direct bookings in the future.”
Kurt Connell, owner of Connell Outdoor Pursuits in Sutherland, near Dornoch, said:
“It’s been an absolute delight to work in partnership with Venture North to help further promote my business. We’ve had some excellent media exposure this year highlighting my new Thermal Imaging Wildlife Safaris and the audience reach has been UK-wide. I highly recommend working with Venture North.”
Venture North is the destination management organisation for Caithness and Sutherland, which is leading the development and delivery of the Tourism Destination Recovery Strategy (2021-23). Core funding support is provided by Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd and other funding partners.
Venture North is continuing to work in partnership with local development trusts, communities and representative bodies and tourism businesses from across the region, to ensure a collective ownership and delivery of the Strategy at regional level. The organisation also supports member businesses and communities across the region through effective collaboration to maximise the benefits of the visitor economy.
Venture North is hosting an in-person gathering as part of its latest community and tourism industry event ‘Tourism Gathering 2023’ at Bur UHI North Highland, Burghfield House in Dornoch from 10am until 1pm on Tuesday 7th March. This event will include a guest presentation from Chris Taylor, Regional Partnerships Director at VisitScotland.
Venture North also offer an ongoing series of online webinars as part of their ‘Talking Tourism’ themed events, which are being organised specifically by the organisation for tourism and hospitality businesses within Caithness and Sutherland; local community organisations; development trusts; and key tourism stakeholders that play a key part in tourism development and ambitions for the region. Over the last 12 months, Venture North has staged eleven events covering everything from business support in Net Zero targets and VisitScotland engagement.
To register for Venture North’s free ‘Tourism Gathering 2023’ event at UHI North Highland, Burghfield House, Dornoch, Sutherland, IV25 3HN, on Tuesday 7th March, please visit www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/venture-north-tourism-gathering-2023-tickets-532118419517 or email ailsa@venture-north.co.uk.
To find out more about future Venture North community and tourism industry events, email info@venture-north.co.uk
More information about Venture North for business and communities in Caithness and Sutherland is available online https://www.venture-north.co.uk.
