With thanks to Beverley Tricker.
A group of journalists from leading Latvian and Estonian media titles are in Aberdeen this week on a press visit to the Granite City.
With the new direct airBaltic flight route from Riga to Aberdeen, the city has the potential to grow tourism from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
Seven writers including supplement editors, specialist travel writers and key travel bloggers will be in Aberdeen until Sunday.
The writers are being hosted by VisitAberdeen, the destination marketing organisation (DMO) responsible for attracting more leisure and business visitors to Aberdeen and the surrounding area.
In a packed itinerary which will give the writers a taste of the North East, the group are staying at Skene House Hotel Suites in the Rosemount area and will enjoy a guided city tour, a trip to Dunnottar Castle and an afternoon at Deeside Activity Park. On Saturday night they will go to His Majesty’s Theatre to see ‘Happy Days The Musical’ before spending Sunday with a tour of Meldrum House Hotel and golf course and a tour of Glen Garioch distillery.
They’ll visit Trump International Golf Links on Sunday before departing for Riga on Sunday evening.
VisitAberdeen Chief Executive Steve Harris says,
“A new route such as the airBaltic Riga to Aberdeen flight, opens up Aberdeen as a short break and holiday destination to a whole new audience. Hosting this press trip gives us the chance to showcase Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire to a big audience across Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. The journalists who will be visiting write for a wide range of lifestyle and travel publications and they will produce features which give their first hand experiences of their visit to Aberdeen.
There have been several new routes into Aberdeen International Airport recently and it’s important that we focus marketing activity to these key cities to attract further visitors. The itinerary which we have planned for this group will show just how much can be packed into a weekend break which takes in city dining and shopping with trips into the surrounding countryside”
VisitAberdeen is a partnership between Aberdeen City Council and the industry including Aberdeen City and Shire Hotels Association and Aberdeen Inspired. For further information contact VisitAberdeen on 01224 900490 or visit www.visitaberdeen.com.
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Without wishing to sound unnecessarily negative, is this really the extent of the massive new influx of tourists and air routes we were promised in return for tearing up the Local Plan, sacrificing a unique SSSI and destroying the lives of local residents?
Fair play to VisitAberdeen however, as I’m sure the Baltic bloggers will have a ball riding quad bikes around Lumphanan and wandering around a windswept deserted golf course. Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire have some wonderful tourist attractions, most of them natural and open to all. Why on earth are we promoting privately owned businesses which offer tourists nothing they could not find elsewhere rather than highlighting and marketing our unique natural heritage?