International travel writers were on the right track when they arrived in Fife.
Attracted by a 10-foot long working model of the Forth Bridge complete with trains on show in Fort Lauderdale, travel writers from America, Isle of Man and Germany visited Fife and east Scotland to see what is on offer for the growing cruise market.
They came across the model of the bridge at a cruise exhibition in Florida earlier this year when Cruise Forth, the project to develop tourism in the Forth, went out to promote the area.
Peter Wilson, project manager of Cruise Forth, was host and tour guide for the writers on their visit, funded by the Visit Scotland Growth Fund.
They took in Edinburgh, Borders, Falkirk and a distinctly historical tour of Fife including hickory golf at Kingarrock, Dunfermline Abbey and De Brus Brewery.
Peter said: “Travel writers are very influential with their readers and it was a great opportunity to show them how broad a range of attractions are available to cruise ship passengers.
“Whether they are interested in city sightseeing, golf, natural beauty or heritage, it’s all here.
“The links to Outlander are of particular interest to German and American passengers so visits to Culross and Falkland were key to the itinerary.”
Hamish Ross of the international magazine Sea Breezes was impressed with the attractions and emphasised the need to make sure that cruise ship organisers, passengers and local businesses continued to promote the area.
“Within easy range of the cruise ships berths are a range of high quality attractions to meet every taste, for groups big or small.
“Key to growing the cruise ship business, is to ensure that those responsible for developing cruise ship itineraries and shore excursions are fully aware of and market on board and pre-trip the marvellous shore experiences available.
“As these ships steam out of the Forth, the passengers should all have very special memories of their visit to Scotland and a dream to return soon.”
Lothar Redieske of the German cruise magazine An Bord was “deeply impressed by all the things” he saw and was especially proud of his personally blended whisky from the Scotch Whisky experience.
During the season, some 84 cruise ships are expected to visit the river Forth, landing passengers at Rosyth, South Queensferry, Leith, and Newhaven bringing around 100,000 passengers from America, Japan, Germany and the UK.
