Assessing the economic impacts of nature based tourism in Scotland

12 THE NATURAL HERITAGE IN SCOTLAND’S TOURISM MARKETING
12.1 Context
The natural heritage has always played a central role in Scottish tourism, going back to
Walter Scott and Queen Victoria. Gold and Gold (1995) contended that the dominant
historical use, extending to the present day, of Highland imagery, with substantial
natural heritage elements, has subsumed much of the potential diverse imagery from
the rest of Scotland and now defines much of the Scottish tourism brand.
A discussion paper on Scotland’s landscapes produced by Scottish Natural Heritage
(2003) states that tourism and many of Scotland’s traditional products use Scotland’s
landscapes as a critical part in their marketing. Scotland is famed for its distinct and
diverse range of landscapes. Many of these have long been celebrated and recorded in
successive schools of painting, and in literature, music and song.
Landscapes are in the media spotlight. Advertising, television and films are making
increasing use of the unspoiled character of Scotland’s landscapes as a backdrop.
Investing in attractive settings is important as attractive landscapes are part of the
image used to sell Scotland as a desirable investment location abroad.
Primetime television slots occupied by Spring and Autumn Watch, together with
programmes like Coast, Countryfile and the Adventure Show draw heavily on nature
based images and influence visitors. Following the recent Shetland Diaries presented
by film maker Simon King, VisitScotland reported that internet traffic on its Shetland
page was up by 800% just after the first broadcast, and Promote Shetland had a four
fold increase in traffic on www.shetland.org (Press and Journal, 2010).
12.2 The VisitScotland brand
VisitScotland (2001/2002) has carried out extensive brand research to find out why
people visit Scotland and what the country represents as a brand. As a result it has
distilled the brand into three values:
• Enduring - The buildings and architecture, history, culture and tradition;
• Dramatic - Dramatic scenery, beautiful light and the drama of the changing
weather;
• Human - The Scots are seen as down to earth, innovative, solid and dependable,
and full of integrity and pride.
These values have been adopted as the foundations for all VisitScotland’s marketing.
12.3 Domestic marketing
VisitScotland’s marketing in the UK is based around three main seasonal campaigns:
• Perfect Day, for the main season from late March to August. The Perfect Day
campaign for 2010 was launched on 17 th March and is designed to showcase
aspects of Scotland that contribute towards a 'Perfect' holiday experience.
Scotland's islands and coasts are the key focus of the campaign, with a wide
variety of things to see and do featured, mostly involving the natural heritage.
These include island hopping, coastal cuisine, sea kayaking, sailing, coastal walks
and relaxing on some of the world's most stunning beaches. Scotland’s natural
heritage, wildlife and festivals are also highlights of the campaign alongside
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