South Ayrshire is firmly on the map in north Italy following a day spent promoting the South Ayrshire area in Bergamo airport near Milan.

A Ryanair daily flight to Prestwick from Bergamo now gives Italians and other Europeans access to South Ayrshire and in order to raise awareness of what South Ayrshire has to offer, representatives from the Council and VisitScotland Prestwick (formerly the Ayrshire and Arran Tourist Board), spoke to travellers who passed through the departure zone of the airport.

The combination of literature in the Italian language, a display stand, a promotional video, and the chance to win a free weekend break in South Ayrshire generated a lot of interest.

In addition a presentation was made at a press conference to journalists, travel writers and tourism operators from Bergamo and the surrounding area.

During the day the representatives highlighted what South Ayrshire has to offer visitors including:

• Scenic beauty from coast to countryside
• Attractions, events and activities for all age groups
• Accommodation to suit various budgets
• An excellent choice of restaurants and eating establishments serving top quality local produce and catering for all tastes

Anyone who visited the display was invited to leave their contact details, so that they could be updated about future events in South Ayrshire. Many people who chose to leave their details said that they were particularly interested in visiting South Ayrshire to see castles and monuments, learn about the heritage of the area, enjoy the stunning scenery, sample the good food and generally relax.

The visit to Italy was one of a series of promotional ‘roadshows’ that will take place over the next two years as part of the Developing Active Regions and Sustainable Tourism (DART) project. DART is a 3 year programme funded by the Council with support from the Interreg IIIB North-West Europe programme, and involves partners from Germany and Ireland.

The aim of DART is to examine and test the best ways to maximise the benefits to tourism from passengers using low cost airlines. The DART German partners were also at Bergamo airport and took the opportunity to showcase their area.

The prize draw for the free competition will take place at the end of April 2005 and the prize includes:

Return flights from Bergamo to Prestwick - courtesy of Ryanair
Two nights stay in the Fairfield House Hotel, Ayr – courtesy of the hotel.
Two tickets to the Burns an ‘a’ That Culzean Gala Concert – courtesy of VisitScotland.

Maria Conetta, Translator, Mark Irwin, VisitScotland, Jane Toye, South Ayrshire Council.

April 2005