News / Interest in the isles overwhelming
PROMOTION material is flying off the shelves after Simon King’s three part series on Shetland’s wildlife has brought the isles to the nation’s attention.
Visit Scotland and Promote Shetland, the new council financed organisation; both have reported a significant increase of interest in the isles.
The national tourism body said Internet traffic on its Shetland page was up 800 per cent in the days immediately after the first broadcast on 4 February.
Promote Shetland said it recorded a four fold increase of traffic at www.shetland.org and added that the interest could have been even higher had VisitScotland provided links from its website to their website “for the benefit of the consumer”.
Simon King’s Shetland Diaries, filmed last summer, were broadcast on BBC2 on three consecutive Thursdays with last episode on the 18 February.
A spokeswoman for VisitScotland said that its Lerwick visitor information centre had to deal with three times more enquiries than what was normally expected at this time of the year.
Island manager Steve Mathieson said: “We are absolutely thrilled with the Simon King’s Shetland Diaries series aired on BBC2.
“The production quality and content of the programmes were exceptionally high, leaving viewers in no doubt of the stunning scenery, rich culture and world class wildlife watching opportunities, available to everyone visiting the Shetland Islands.
“As the programme was broadcast during primetime targeting large audiences and showcasing Shetland on a national stage, it will have brought Shetland to the forefront of the viewers minds when they are considering where to take their next holiday. This type of exposure is priceless.”
Meanwhile, destination manager with Promote Shetland, Andy Steven, said they had run out of promotional material at the Destination Travel Show earlier this months when they were overwhelmed by interest in the isles.
He said: “There was a very significant amount of people who had seen the programme and wanted to find out more about the place.”
Mr Steven and his team have now been invited to join Simon King at his stand at the Outdoor Show, in Birmingham, at the end of March, when the broadcaster will also promote the book to the series.
Promote Shetland was formed last year, when Shetland Islands Council withdrew its funding from VisitScotland after years of disagreements over the best way of promoting Shetland as a distinctive destination.
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