Six travel bloggers living in Scotland have joined forces to launch a year-round digital campaign to promote their country as a travel destination.
Douglas Baird (Baird Travels), Kay Gillespie (The Chaotic Scot), Kim Kjaerside (Kim Kjaerside Photography), Neil Robertson (Locomotion Scotland), Nicola Holland (FunkyEllas Travel) and Susanne Arbuckle (Adventures Around Scotland) make up Scotland’s first travel blogger collaboration, known collectively as Scotlanders.
Working with destinations, organisations and events across the country, the Scotlanders will create a wealth of digital content which will be promoted on their blogs and across seven social media channels to a combined following of over 30,000 people in excess of one hundred countries. Their primary objective is to inspire international and local visitors to discover the best and most unique experiences in Scotland through their stories, high quality images and short videos. Their passion for Scotland is unrivalled and evident in the expertise and travel experience they have gained over the years.
Indiviudually the Scotlanders are extensively travelled worldwide and have established successful travel blogs, working on campaigns with The Commonwealth Games, SYHA, The National Trust for Scotland, Cool Places UK, #blogmanay and Welcome to Fife.
They recognise the potential in working together to increase the impact and exposure of their content, something which is reflected in their campaign motto “Exploring Scotland Together”. The group met in Glasgow earlier this year to discuss the project and have been in regular contact in preparation for the launch.
The group’s first official project launched on Saturday 28th March in the city of Dundee. Each blogger covered a specific theme; Dundee as a tourism/cruise ship destination, culture, design, food, the outdoors, family activities; and all promoted their experiences on social media using #Scotlanders with blog articles to follow. Councillor Will Dawson and spokesperson for Dundee, One City Many Discoveries said:
“We are delighted to welcome ‘The Scotlanders’ digital media group to Dundee. This is is a great opportunity to promote Dundee and Broughty Ferry to a national and international visitor audience through six specialist travel blogs and supporting social media. These online articles will communicate the variety of unique experiences a visitor can expect to enjoy when in Dundee, encouraging new visitors to include Dundee in their travel schedules.”
Several members of the group recently participated in a campaign in Linlithgow, organised by Emma Chalmers of Mary’s Meanders. The content generated significant interest on social media and provided an insight into the likely success of future projects.
The Scotlanders envisage that they will be involved in various projects in the coming months and are already in discussions with tourism industry contacts who have noted their interest in working together.
The group are attending Visit Scotland Expo in Aberdeen on the 23rd April to promote the campaign and seek out potential opportunities.
The Scotlanders can be contacted at www.TheScotlanders.com and via social media channels to discuss potential partnerships.
Professional indemnity