The Second Battle of Bannockburn
I was alerted today that an article had appeared in the Times. As someone who tends to avoid lining the Murdoch's pockets I had missed it. However I've grudgingly given them a pound via my local newsagent. Here is the article by Hamish MacDonell (I hope he's a Glengarry since Keppoch canna stand us):
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Tourism chiefs and Politicians fight second battle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn is being fought again and the fear is that this time Scotland might loose out.
Proposals to attract tens of thousands of American tourists next year, the 700th anniversary of the battle, could lead to a disaster for the tourism industry, a powerful Scottish Parliament committee has warned.Members of Holyrood's Economy, Energy and Tourism committee are worried that Visit Scotland's plan to use the anniversary as a hook for a big tourist drive has not been thought through. They fear that the 2014 event could end up being as controversial as the Gathering in 2009 which led to substantial losses, court cases and considerable acrimony within the industry.
The MSPs are desperate to avoid a repeat and are deeply concerned about the planned events for 2014. The are anxious that the anniversary celebrations are being held at the wrong time of the year to attract American tourists and that the facilities at the battle site are not nearly good enough for the number of visitors expected.
The politicians have written to Malcolm Roughhead the chief executive of Visit Scotland demanding answers about the Bannockburn celebrations and what research has been done to explore possible problems before the event was set up. But a spokesmen for the tourist agency insisted last night that Visit Scotland supported the event fully and did not anticipate and of the problems that the MSPs were concerned about.
The year 2014 has been designated the Year of Homecoming and a second gathering event called Cans 2014 - designed to attract tourists of Scots descent from all over the world - was originally supposed to be at the heart of the year-long festival. But plans for this Gathering event scheduled for July 2014 floundered recently. In trying to rescue something from the situation, Visit Scotland decided to use the 700th anniversary of the battle of Bannockburn, the famous victory in the Wars of Independence when Robert the Bruce's army routed the English just south of Stirling, as a way of attracting the Scots diaspora back during the year. But the battle of Bannockburn takes place of June 24, before the traditional start of the season for American foreign travel on July 4, Independence day.
Tourist experts have warned that Americans tend not to travel abroad before the 4th of July which could cause problems in attracting significant numbers of Americans to the Bannockburn anniversary. Not only that but after the cancelation of the Clans 2014 event, the American Council of Scottish Clans and Associations wrote to its 60,000 members telling them to put their travel plans 'on hold' because of the confusion at the Scottish end. There have also been warnings that the facilities at Bannockburn are inadequate for large numbers of tourists. Murdo Fraser the conservative convener of the tourism committee said "Everyone in the Scottish tourism industry has a vested interest in the Year of Homecoming 2014 of which the Gathering was to be a central part. Now that the Gathering 2014 has been cancelled there are very real concerns that leaves a large hole in the programme of events and as a result the volume of North American visitors will be far less than was hoped for." And he added: "I am not convinced that what is currently being proposed by Visit Scotland as a replacement for the Gathering will be suitable to bring the numbers we all want to see. It is essential that Visit Scotland gets a grip on the situation and ensures that the Scottish tourist industry does not loose out."
The MSPs, in their letter to Mr Roughhead said that they wanted to know what discussions had taken place between Visit Scotland clan societies to find out whether American tourists would actually want to travel to Scotland before Independence Day. They also asked Mr Roughhead to explain how the Bannockburn site was going to able to cope with all the overseas visitors he expects to turn up for the celebrations.
A spokesmen for Visit Scotland said that the Bannockburn event was being organised primarily by the National Trust for Scotland. "It has the potential to be an outstanding showcase for Scottish history and the clans", he said. And he added: "Visit Scotland supports this decision and the enhancement of the Bannockburn event will present the best opportunity for additional economic impact for Scotland and the best opportunity for clans to meet in 2014. Visit Scotland continues to have positive discussions with Clan representatives and we do not consider the timing of the event a cause for concern.
The Times, Monday November 19 2012.
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Right from the off many of us have voiced concerns about the shoehorning of the event into Bannockburn. This was just not a big enough event to draw the Tourists from overseas. A schedule of events that included a Clan Convention and a large Scale Gathering at Glamis as well as Bannockburn but covering a two week period that would run beyond the July 4th date has been suggested by many including the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs and Glamis castle itself, Visit Scotland's attitude has been to stick its fingers in its ears and cry la la la!
Now we have heard (literally an hour ago) that Tom Chambers, director of Homecoming 2014 has resigned to take up a post with the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014 organisation. Many people in the clan community trusted Tom so his departure is a big blow. Its worth noting that it was a sudden departure from Stirling council that first indicated that Clans 2014 was in trouble.
Event Scotland and Visit Scotland have their head deeply buried in the sand, The Scottish Government seems a bit confused and the culture minister Fiona Hyslop has yet to make a formal (or indeed meaningful) statement that we've seen. No one seems to have had any notice that regional clan events are getting any of the promised funding, its a car crash in slow motion.
2014 could be a 'dae it yersel' gathering after all....
