This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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New drive to attract more visitors through golf
17/05/2005
The Open Championship, the world's greatest golf
tournament, is teaming up with the Executive and its
agencies to promote Scotland as the home of golf.
EventScotland, VisitScotland Enterprise and Scottish
Development International have signed a £550,000 three year
deal with The Open Championship, which will see a new
marketing campaign tee off at this year's event at St
Andrews.
The campaign, incorporating the iconic Claret Jug logo,
will continue at Royal Liverpool next year and at
Carnoustie in 2007.
Tourism Minister Patricia Ferguson said:
"Golf tourism is big business in Scotland, ploughing
£300 million annually into our economy. I confirmed this
morning that the Executive and its agencies have agreed a
£550,000 three year deal with The Open Championship.
"We have some of the world's finest courses and this new
marketing campaign allows us to build on that richly
deserved reputation.
"Additionally we will support the largest research study
ever undertaken at The Open to find out, in monetary terms,
the value of hosting this magnificent tournament in
Scotland."
"I want to ensure that Scotland is a must-visit
destination for the world's golfers, their friends and
families.
Royal & Ancient Director of Championships David Hill
said:
"We know an association with The Open Championship is
good for business and we look forward to working with The
Executive to deliver the greatest possible benefit for
Scotland from the event."
David Williams, Chief Executive of EventScotland,
said:
"EventScotland has secured the support of VisitScotland,
Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International
to create more opportunities from The Open.
"This means we have a number of vehicles to promote
business-to-business networking and to further promote
Scotland as the unrivalled home of the game."
Philip Riddle, Chief Executive of VisitScotland,
said:
"Golf is a crucial element of Scotland's tourism
industry with golfing visitors spending, on average, twice
as much as others. This is also about underlining the sheer
quality of our award winning national golfing
provision."
Jack Perry, Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise,
said:
"Mention Scotland to anyone you meet across the world
and it's a certainty that golf will be among the top images
it conjures up.
"We are keen to use that positive image to open
thousands of visitors' eyes to the many other good things
Scotland has to offer and there is no better platform for
this than the World's top golf tournament, The Open."
The marketing campaign will see the creation of an
exhibition area in The Open tented village backed by an
advertising campaign.
The Open Championship ranks first equal with the
Wimbledon Tennis Championships as the world's largest
annual televised sports event with a broadcast reach in
excess of 400 million households.
The Open at St Andrews in 2005 is expected to attract
200,000 spectators including at least 10,000 who will
travel to the event from overseas.