Visit Scotland & Air Canada welcome agents to workshop

Visit Scotland and Air Canada welcomed a select group of travel agents to learn more about the destination, with a workshop session last Friday (Oct. 21) in downtown Toronto.

The workshop included suppliers representing all aspects of Scotland’s travel industry, from hotels to tour operators and attractions. Visit Scotland’s travel partners attending the event included Abbey Tours; Abbotsford House; Atlas Travel Solutions Ltd.; Capercaillie Escapes; DU Grand Tours; Dryburgh Abbey Hotel; Glasgow City Marketing Bureau; Highland Explorer Tours; Historic Environment Scotland; Loch Ness by Jacobite; Mercat Tours; National Trust for Scotland; The Glasshouse; and Rabbie’s Trail Burners.

Simon Bergenroth, Visit Scotland’s market manager for North America & Australasia, market strategy & development, told PAX that arrivals to the destination from Canada are increasing, largely due to increased airlift; in June, Air Canada launched its seasonal Toronto-Glasgow service, which offers three non-stop weekly flights during the summer months. In 2015, approximately 100,000 Canadians visited the country, Bergenroth said.

Since 2006, Visit Scotland has focused on a particular theme for tourism, Bergenroth said, and for 2017, that theme will be 'History, Heritage and Archaeology', which he hopes will draw increasing numbers of Canadians, particularly the approximately 1.7 million Canadians with a Scottish background, he said. Plans for cross-promotion with Canada’s 150th birthday celebrations next year are also in the works, Bergenroth added.

“It encapsulates all the reasons Canadians come to the U.K.,” he said of the 2017 theme, “from the landscapes, to the history and ancestry. Those key themes coming together are a real strong draw for the market; we’ve been working with agents and operators to get them ready for it and now it’s a matter of getting people to fly over.”

And while concerns may have been raised about the Brexit vote and its potential impact on tourism, Bergenroth said that currently, the industry has benefited from a stronger dollar in the wake of the vote; in turn, Scotland welcomed more than 500 million visitors over the last two quarters, he added.

“It’s quite early to see what the impact will be but from what we’ve heard from operators, particularly with regard to North America, is that it’s been beneficial, with the dollar’s strength against the pound. We’re optimistic and we seem to be resilient with the airlines, who are adding routes and maintaining the ones they have.”

The day concluded in true Scottish fashion with a haggis lunch and whisky tasting, followed by a prize draw.