Scotland Starts Here
Helping a destination tourism initiative become one of Lonely Planet’s top destinations
Opportunity
With the newly re-instated Borders Railway reconnecting the rural south of Scotland to Edinburgh, the Midlothian and Scottish Borders Tourism Action Group (MBTAG) saw a renewed opportunity to realise the area’s full potential as a tourism destination.
MBTAG’s aims were to grow the area’s visitor economy, improve its discovery by both UK and international markets, and showcase its rich history and heritage.
To achieve their goals, the MBTAG team wanted to create a suite of digital products that helped visitors to plan their trips, encouraged them to head off the beaten track and inspired them with the wonders of the Scottish borders.
Solution
Building on MBTAG’s vision, and realising the potential growth of Scotland’s south, we worked to create products that would not only support tourists while in-location but also promote the destinations' businesses, routes and events to the wider market.
In addition to an app, we created a comprehensive and responsive website, equipped with every resource a tourist could want. Features include:
- Extensive natural wonder, scenic views and heritage site listings
- Full business listings
- Interactive 3D maps with points of interests
- Driving, cycling, walking and rail routes
- Full route profiles including visualisation, GPX, elevation and surface type
- Audio content
- Blog and social media integration
- Event listings
Finally, with flexibility and ease of content editing being a key element to the project, both the app and website are powered by our content management platform, My Whereverly. This allows the team full control over the content in an easy-to-use setting, giving them the ability to adapt the digital products to suit their ever-growing list of successful campaigns.
How it works:
- Business members complete listings through an automated workflow
- Local groups manage heritage listings through automated processes
- National bodies manage nature and heritage assets within the system
- Driving, cycling, walking and rail routes are created within the system
- Audio and video are uploaded
- Destination business analytics are available
Outcome
MBTAG’s initiative to increase the visitor economy was one of great success and in December 2022 the South of Scotland was voted as one of Lonely Planet’s best destinations to visit in 2023. The DMO itself has also since grown to include the new Scotland Starts Here (SSH) brand, alongside an expansion in the DMO itself, now named the South of Scotland Destination Alliance (SSDA).
Never one to fall behind, Whereverly’s app and website have kept up with this rapid growth, with our content management platform facilitating seamless updates to the expanding list of businesses, routes and events featured in the area.
The Scotland Starts Here website has acted as a vital platform for the SSDA to introduce new plans, campaigns and initiatives to the world, with over 1.2 million page views to date, 3,000 points of interest, 200 walking, cycling and driving routes and 150 songs and stories for users to listen to.
With a pocket guide and a website to match, exploring the Scottish borders has never been easier.
Outcome
Helping a destination tourism initiative become a regional powerhouse
- Visitors
- 500k+
- Points of Interest
- 3,000+
- Walking, Cycling and Driving Routes
- 200+
- Songs and Stories
- 200
Highly RecommendThe creators of this App have really done their homework. I live in the south of Scotland, so I had a look around the App to see what it told me about my local area. I was very impressed. Sure, it doesn’t include everything, but if I was a visitor coming to the area, it really would be worthwhile having. I’m looking forward to using it in parts of the south which are less familiar to me. Easy 5 stars.
Awesome AppWhat a great tool to explore Scottish Borders- love how it brings the destination alive, will definitely be sharing this app to all our friends and family and to people coming to visit- well done!