Sail Scotland stirred up interest at a scorching hot Northern Boat Show in Liverpool last week, with members underlining how easy it is to reach Scottish waters from North West England and promoting the best of Scottish sailing and marine tourism.
The national sailing tourism organisation took a stand at the show for the first time and made the most of the warm weather talking up the appeal of setting sail for the ‘World’s Best Cruising Ground’, highlighting the country’s unique experiences, natural beauty and facilities to thousands of visitors who had flocked to the city’s docks.
The Northern Boat Show is an annual event attracting thousands of visitors from across the North of England and Wales. The Sail Scotland stand was positioned prominently to promote Scottish sailing holidays, yacht charters, marinas and boatyards to consumers for the very first time.
There were many highlights from visitors to the stand, which included a chance to win a stay at Portavadie Marina. One visitor to the stand was heading for a trip to St. Kilda this summer, whilst another couple shared their experience of a recent trip from Troon to Oban through the Crinan Canal in glorious sunshine.
Gavin McDonagh, Chairman of Sail Scotland said: “The North West is a key market so it was ideal to have a Sail Scotland presence at the Northern Boat Show for the first time this year. It is a great opportunity to build on our international work, and to encourage new domestic visitors to Scottish waters over the coming weeks as part of our commitment to delivering the national marine tourism strategy”.
Portavadie’s Marina Business Development Manager, Robert Kitchin, added: “The Northern Boat Show is a good platform to showcase Scotland. People have a good affinity with sailing north but even in this domestic market, you can see that people are awe-struck by the beauty of our sailing waters. There’s no doubt that our work this week will have planted seeds for future visits.”
Tarbert Harbour’s Business Development Coordinator, Donna Mallan, said: “We were delighted to support the Sail Scotland presence at Northern Boat Show to sell the whole experience of what it is like to Sail Scotland. It is a relatively short passage to reach the Clyde and it was clear from visitors to the stand that many are interested in making this trip. We look forward to welcoming them soon.”
It has been a busy few months for Sail Scotland, having already delivered activity at International Boat Shows in London and Gothenburg in addition to a range of online and social media campaigns to drive more visiting sailors to Scotland.
