Viewing platform visitor boost planned for Forth Bridge

28/08/2013

Forth Rail BridgeA viewing platform, set 100 metres above the River Forth, is set to open on the Forth Bridge, offering spectacular views and drawing potentially hundreds of thousands of visitors to west Fife per year.

The platform will be reachable from two glass lifts connected to a new visitor centre in the base of the rail bridge’s northern Fife Tower. Alternatively, visitors can take part in guided climbs to the South Tower from a second visitor centre in South Queensferry. Read more of this post

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Tourism

22/08/2013

The announcement that an Events Officer will be appointed for Dunfermline is welcome and long overdue. More than once in this column, I’ve spoken about the wasted potential of our city centre and the need to drum up more footfall, including tourism.

I have long lamented that Dunfermline has an array of excellent organisations working to promote the city but these groups frequently work in isolation. The new Events Officer will bring them together to produce an events calendar aimed at enticing visitors into Dunfermline. It is vital that we get more people into our city centre, because we need local businesses to thrive if we are to restore our economy. Not only that, but we have a beautiful and historic city that ought to receive due recognition. Read more of this post

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New bespoke Dunfermline-based tour guide business

22/02/2013

Carnegie TouringDunfermline MSP Bill Walker has welcomed the launch of a new bespoke tour guide service for visitors to Dunfermline, Fife and further afield in Scotland.

Carnegie Touring, founded by former Fife councillor Gerry McMullan, provides holiday itineraries tailored to the needs and interests of tourists. In addition, short excursions include “From the Palace of Culross to Dunfermline, the Ancient Capital of Scotland”, “In the footsteps of Andrew Carnegie” and “The Ancient Capital of Scotland, its Kings and Queens”.

Dunfermline MSP Bill Walker said: “I’m very pleased at the launch of not only a new business based in Dunfermline, but one that aims to promote Dunfermline and beyond and which should increase footfall to our scenic part of the country. Read more of this post

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Tourism Initiatives

21/02/2013

Scottish Tourism Week in March is an annual event raising awareness of tourism’s importance to Scotland’s economy. I recently signed up in Parliament to support this event. Dunfermline has so much potential as a destination but, as I continually hear locally, much of this is unfulfilled. My chief ambition as MSP is to see Dunfermline regenerated and attracting more visitors.

The ancient capital of Scotland should be on visitors’ itineraries. We have an abundance of historic buildings all around us, not limited to the Abbey and Palace. We have such amenities as the Carnegie Hall, Alhambra, Odeon, Carnegie Leisure Centre, big-name stores, excellent restaurants, cafes and pubs. 2013 is the Year of Natural Scotland, and we have the wonderful Pittencrieff Park. We also have good travel links to Edinburgh and Glasgow and are surrounded by beautiful towns and villages, such as historic Culross and Limekilns. Read more of this post

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Dunfermline MSP Bill Walker supports Scottish Tourism Week

07/02/2013

MSP's-Sign-Up-Scottish-Tourism-Week-38[1]Dunfermline MSP Bill Walker has signed up to support Scottish Tourism Week, the annual event aimed at promoting tourism in Scotland and raising awareness of its importance to our economy. This year, it takes place from 4th to 13th March.

Mr Walker said: “I’m proud to represent a city with so much to offer as Dunfermline, a city that’s really going places. Any Scot or visitor to Scotland would be doing themselves a disservice if they missed the opportunity to see for themselves the capital of medieval Scotland.

“A walk through our town centre reveals an abundance of buildings of architectural and historical significance, and of course our magnificent Abbey is famously the burial place of King Robert the Bruce. Read more of this post

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New flagship Dunfermline museum receives £2.8m cash boost

04/02/2013

Dunfermilne MuseumDunfermline MSP Bill Walker has welcomed the Heritage Lottery Fund’s announcement today of a £2.8m grant towards the establishment of a museum and art gallery in the historical heart of the Auld Grey Toun.

The new flagship museum will link two existing listed buildings in Dunfermline’s heritage quarter – the Carnegie Library and a former bank – to create a combined museum, art gallery, library, archives and local history service. This latest funding follows £6.8m already allocated by Fife Council and Carnegie Dunfermline Trust.

Mr Walker said: “This will be a 21st century building complementing and diversifying the layered history of the heritage quarter, showcasing stunning views of the Abbey and Abbot House. It will be for the enjoyment of locals and visitors alike, and will increase the footfall in Dunfermline’s heritage quarter, including the Glen, Abbey, Abbot House and the palace, as well as further along the road to Andrew Carnegie’s Cottage. Vitally, it will also bring more people to the shops and cafes. Read more of this post

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Funding Boost for 2012 Bruce Festival

04/05/2012

A medieval village recreated in Dunfermline’s Pittencrieff Park will be the busy hub of this year’s Bruce Festival, taking place on the 25th and 26th of August.

The 2012 celebration aims to be the best Bruce Festival to date, after last year’s event drew a record 18,000 visitors to watch jousting and re-enactments, as well as browse arts and crafts and sample the wares of the food village. Read more of this post

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Tourism Boost to Dunfermline and West Fife

13/04/2012

Tourism in Dunfermline and West Fife looks set to enjoy a boost, thanks to a Fife-wide series of visitor guides and a new branding strategy — initiatives welcomed by local MSP Bill Walker.

The colourful, up-to-date 32-page guides highlight Fife’s many attractions and include maps setting out sections of the Fife Coastal Path. They are free to pick up at visitor attractions, transport hubs and in tourist accommodation. Read more of this post

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S4M-02243: Dunfermline and West Fife Local Tourism Association

13/03/2012

That the Parliament welcomes the initiative by Dunfermline and West Fife Local Tourism Association aimed at boosting the Fife economy by a projected  £1.1 million to £2.25 million annually; acknowledges what it believes to be the innovative use of welcoming committees to  greet cruise ship passengers disembarking at Rosyth; understands that these committees provide the passengers with information on Fife’s attractions, and recognises the efforts of the association to build on the progress begun last year when it launched this initiative.

Supported by: Margaret Burgess, Gordon MacDonald, Mike MacKenzie, Humza Yousaf, Richard Lyle, Sandra White, Colin Beattie, Hanzala Malik, Murdo Fraser, Gil Paterson

Date Lodged: 06/03/2012

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Initiative to Boost Tourism in Fife

28/02/2012

Dunfermline MSP Bill Walker has welcomed recent reports that Fife’s economy could be boosted by £1.1 to £2.25 million p.a., after the launch of a new initiative to encourage tourists to visit the Kingdom. Read more of this post

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Destination Dunfermline

02/02/2012

As Scotland’s ancient capital, Dunfermline is a city steeped in history. Our Abbey is the final resting place of more Scottish royalty than anywhere outside Iona. Robert the Bruce lies beneath the pulpit, one of an array of colourful figures tied to our city, such as King Malcolm Canmore, Saint Margaret, William Wallace and Andrew Carnegie. Read more of this post

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