A cheeky bid to attract Dundee shoppers to Edinburgh should be taken as a compliment, according to leading figures in the City of Discovery.
The This is Edinburgh campaign wants to bring Dundonians and others living within a two-hour drive to the capital in a bid to increase footfall by 2% above the national average.
But city development convener Will Dawson said it could just be Edinburgh “getting its own back”.
He said Dundee had had a few advertising campaigns of its own in the capital recently, including projecting images of the V&A at Dundee in Princes Street.
“Anyone from Edinburgh is welcome to come and see our city,” he said.
Derek Little, a member of Dundee city centre traders group DD One, said Edinburgh is merely looking to Dundee’s recent resurgence for inspiration.
“I think Edinburgh’s looking at what’s going on here,” he said.
“Over the years, Dundee’s always had a challenge trying to make sure shoppers don’t go to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. Over the past five years perhaps the traffic has gone the other way.
“We’re perhaps not so good trying to attract shoppers from Edinburgh, but Aberdeen shoppers are coming down and they are highly complimentary.”
Neil Cooney is exploring whether firms in Dundee should come together to form a Business Improvement District which would tackle issues like the perception and marketing of the city.
He said: “It’s only normal that the city of Edinburgh, within an hour of Dundee, is highly attractive. Edinburgh’s not the competition for Dundee, it’s maybe Perth, St Andrews or online sales.”
However, he said it worked both ways and attractions like the V&A would make Dundee attractive to those in the central belt.
The leader of Dundee City Council, Councillor Ken Guild, said Dundee had plenty to offer visitors from Edinburgh.
“We have an excellent range of shops,” he added.