by Aleksandra Jurczak
The new travel guide to Scotland published in America describes the natives as’rude’, Loch Ness as ‘dull’ and Ben Nevis as a ‘biggish hill’.
The book was written by an English lecturer, writer and Broadcaster, John Scotney as a guide to Scottish culture and heritage. It has been criticised by natives for stating biased opinions as facts as well as inaccuracies and spelling errors. Mr Scotney has apologised for the mistakes and the Kuperard publishers promised to correct these in the next edition.
One of the main issues raised by the publication is the negative perception of Scotland by England due to the fabled cold relations between the two countries.
In the meantime, Scottish initiative to promote the country internationally, Homecoming Scotland, claims that this years events, celebrating 250 anniversary of the nation’s cultural icon, Robert Burns, has been a huge success so far.
The idea behind Homecoming is to motivate people with Scottish ancestry or simply those who love Scotland to “Come Home” and celebrate the culture, heritage and contributions Scotland has given the world.
The core budget of £5.5m has been additionally supported by a £0.5m founding from the Scottish Government to extend the marketing and promotion of Homecoming.
The statistics provided by You Gov poll indicate that 87% of Scottish people are aware of the events which shows a significant rise from the 29% reported in August 2008. Homecoming’s approval has also grown with 75% of those polled agreeing the initiative is a good thing for Scotland.
The organisers believe the events create a positive profile of Scotland throughout the UK and Internationally. 87% of Scottish respondents said the TV advertising made them feel better about their country, whilst 50% of UK audience claimed to tell their family and friends about the Homecoming events.
Internationally, Homecoming was advertised through brochures, e-newsletters, promotional websites, events and expos. The organisers hope the events will generate an additional £44m in tourism revenue, leading it to its 50% growth by 2015.
Asked about the predictions for the tourism in Scotland for next year, Peter Lederer, Chairman for VisitScotland, said, ‘As with this year, economic conditions are likely to be challenging for all sectors in 2010. I expect tourism in Scotland to continue to hold its own and we will look to capitalise on the new relationships with visitors and potential visitors from home and abroad. We will also build on the success of Homecoming Scotland 2009 and the unprecedented partnership working between public, private and voluntary sector organisations to promote Scotland as a quality must experience destination.’
