Moray Tourism Destination Development.

Lossiemouth to host showcase event as it awaits RAF closure decision

Campaigners in Lossiemouth are to stage a major free event in the town as part of the ongoing campaign to save closure threatened RAF Lossiemouth. Moray Task Force and Save RAF Lossiemouth Action Group have joined forces to host ‘Stand up and be Kilted’, just weeks before an expected decision on the future of the RAF base, which next week marks its 72nd anniversary.

Hosted by local raconteur Peter Mitchell, the free event will include a tartan themed fashion show and a performance from stand up comedian Fred MacAulay. Organisers says the event is designed to promote businesses in Lossiemouth – badly affected by the uncertainty surrounding the fate of the base – and promote the coastal town as a tourist destination.

It is hoped that the event could become an annual festival. Guests are being encouraged to wear a kilt or a touch of tartan to the event, which will be held in the newly refurbished Lossiemouth Town Hall on Sunday 8 May, from 2.00 – 4.00pm. Doors open at 1.30pm.

Organiser Lesley Ann Parker, chief executive of Moray Chamber of Commerce and co-chair of Moray Task Force, said: “We can be proud of the campaign we have fought to save RAF Lossiemouth. The campaign has been strong and united and there is no doubt that our voice has been heard at the highest level. However, it is clear that the continuing uncertainty surrounding the future of RAF Lossiemouth has hurt the community hard and shaken business confidence in the town. “Despite the continuing uncertainty, we hope to raise community spirits by supporting local businesses and by promoting Lossiemouth as a great place to visit. We’re sending a message that Lossiemouth is very much open for business, and determined to continue the fight for the future of RAF Lossiemouth.”

Councillor David Stewart, chair of the Save RAF Lossiemouth Action Group, said: “The town has been on hold since the review of RAF Lossiemouth was announced. The delay is hurting businesses and causing concern for families in the town. We need answers from the UK Government and an end to the delay and uncertainty.” He added: “We want to encourage more visitors to come to Lossiemouth to enjoy our shops, bars, restaurants and attractions, discover more about our unique history and explore our stunning coastline. Events like this can only help to raise the profile of our region and showcase our enormous strengths as a tourist destination.”

Campaigners have also been pressing the UK Government for more clarity around the future of the RAF Kinloss site, due to close as an operational air base in the summer. The site has been identified as a potential military base for troops currently stationed in Germany.

Tickets for the event are available from Moray Chamber of Commerce (contact 01340 881226), Lossiemouth Post Office and Grampian Furnishers. Tickets are limited to two per person.

See below the workshops Business Gateway Elgin is organising for May and June.

Workshops on:

Social media, Marketing, E-commerce, Record keeping , Business start up and marketing and selling skills.

To book any of the events below call Lynn on 01343 563634

Click on image below to see bigger version

Last two places remaining!

Date: Wednesday 20th April 2011
Venue: Knockomie Hotel, Forres.
Time: 10:30am – 3.00pm

The event will include:

· Insights into Scotland and Moray’s key visitor markets and how you can align you’re marketing to     get maximum return.

· Background to the Moray Speyside brand and Moray’s target markets

· Recently gathered local intelligence

· Insights into some of Moray’s product niches: Food, Wildlife/Nature and Golf.

· A creative session to generate ideas for new products and collaborations

Book now to secure one of the last two remaining places by contacting Susan Catto, Highlands and Islands Enterprise,

t: 01463 244 450 or e: susan.catto@hient.co.uk

Full details available here: Intelligence and Innovation Workshop

See below the link to a summary of the Moray accommodation survey over 2010.

The survey is split in the five Moray wards; Buckie, Elgin, Forres, Keith, Speyside and features:

• Occupancy rates 2010 of B&B, Hotels and Self catering in Moray
• Business and Leisure visitors
• Reason for trip to Moray
• Length of stay
• Visitors origin

Data gathering is an important part of the development of a tourism destination and Moray Council is sponsoring a prize to the value of £250 for a tourism business that has helped with the data gathering.

The first prize was won by Zillah Jamieson of Norwood Guest house, Cullen, the latest prize is won by Ann Cartmell of the Croft B&B, Elgin. Congratulations!

Moray accommodation 2010

Cullen and Deskford launch Photo Competition for the Area’s 2012 Calendar

Over the last 2 years, the Cullen & Deskford Community Council and Cullen, Deskford and Portknockie Heritage Group have produced a very successful calendar featuring the area through photographs of the past and the present. This initiative has generated significant funds for both community and heritage projects. For 2012, the changes are being rung – and the initiative will provide everyone with the opportunity to become immortalised in print, at least for a year!

This year, the Community Council is planning a totally different format. Residents, visitors and fans of Cullen and Deskford will be invited to send in their personal photographs of the local area for the chance to be included in the 2012 calendar.

Eminent national photographic adjudicator and Cullen expat Malcolm McBeath will be judging the entries within three categories: Primary School age, Secondary School age and Adults. Each month will feature a winning photograph. In addition, local businesses, clubs and groups can also have their own little bit of immortality by sponsoring a month.

Professor Ashley Mowat, Chair of the Cullen & Deskford Community Council, commented: “This project provides a great opportunity for people of all ages to get involved in raising funds for community projects, as well as seeing their name up in lights alongside their favourite photo of the area. This part of the country offers fantastic opportunities for photographers to demonstrate their expertise; and we hope that fans of Cullen and Deskford – both local and from far afield – will respond to this invitation”.

Details of the competition are currently being displayed throughout Cullen and Deskford, as well as being broadcast more widely through the community website, Friends of Cullen on Facebook and all those who have subscribed to the website newsletter. Professor Mowat continued: “My only regret is that I am ineligible to enter, but I hope that everyone, from the very young to the very old, will be inspired to show off their favourite photos of the area. We are confident that the dramatic weather of the last two winters and the great summer weather, with some of the best sunsets in the world, will provide us with some very difficult choices to make during the judging phase.”

Further information on the photo competition and the sponsorship opportunities is available on www.discovercullen.com or by e-mail to community@discovercullen.com or by phone to 01542 840314. The closing date for entries is 16th April 2011.

News from Moray Chamber of Commerce

Wednesday 9 March

Opportunities in Space for Moray and Scotland – A Lecture by Professor George Fraser.

Reach for the Stars

Professor Fraser is the Director of Leicester University’s Space Research Centre. Born and brought up in Burghead and educated at Elgin Academy, whose motto coincidentally of SIC ITUR ad ASTRA, meaning ‘Thus you shall go to the stars’ is a fitting ethos for the subject of how we look at the emerging business sectors in our economy and the huge opportunities they could provide for Moray.

At the event Moray Chamber of Commerce will launch Science, Space & Stars – a new networking platform to provide an opportunity for scientists, engineers and businesses from Moray and the North East to get together to discuss common issues and share learning.
 
The lecture will take place at Moray College in Elgin and will be FREE if taken with lunch or charged at £6 per delegate to cover costs. Registration, networking, tea and coffee will be served at 10.30am in the Beechtree Restaurant and the lecture will commence at 11am in the Lecture Theatre. 



A fine dining networking lunch will follow at the Beechtree Restaurant at 1pm.

Members £25.00 / Friends £35.00 including VAT. Hospitality Supervision and Leadership students will be looking after us as part of their course. 
Please book now to avoid disappointment. E-mail info@moraychamber.co.uk or contact Miss Lovat Hamilton on 01340 881 226 indicating if you wish to attend this event and/or lunch and please advise of any dietary requirements. 
Members are requested to note that the AGM will follow later that day.

“The Moray Space Wheel idea was developed by Maarten de Vries, a local project consultant and member of British Science Association. The picture is an artist’s impression of this potential centre of excellence for Moray where business, education, community and visitors can get involved in the exploration of space. It would contain an permanent exhibition, business and educational facilities, a space flight simulator, a planetarium, a shop and restaurant.”

Friday 4th March

Back to Future – Elgin in Style will showcase and celebrate what is on offer in Elgin City Centre within the Fashion, Hair and Beauty Industry.

This event is much more than a typical fashion show. This event will be themed around Elgin – Past, Present and Future bringing to life the rich culture and history of the town. Back to the Future has been jointly developed by Elgin BID and the Out of Darkness Theatre Company and promises to be a night to remember with local young people from schools and Moray College performing a number of drama and dance pieces to showcase participating retailers fashions.

Included in the ticket price at a modest £7.00 (£5.00 for concessions) will be the main show, an exhibition where you can purchase the products on show, buffet and refreshments. Participating in the event are 15 City Centre retailers including familiar names such as: Ultimate Hair and Beauty, Marks and Spencer, M and Co , Dorothy Perkins, New Look , ESP , Burtons Menswear, Chuck McCall , McCalls of Elgin, Sphere, Xanadu, DE Shoes, Voluptu, Moray College and Tesco.

Tickets are available at the following outlets in Elgin City Centre: Ultimate Hair and Beauty – High Street , Bijou – Batchen Street, Sound and Vision – South Street , Voluptu – High Street (next to the Royal Bank) , Chuck McCall – South Street, ESP – Moss Street, McCalls of Elgin – South Street, Dorothy Perkins – St Giles Centre , Moray College , Tesco , M and Co (78 – 83 High Street) , DE Shoes – High Street, Xanadu Ladies Fashions – South Street, Burtons Menswear – High Street, Elgin Library , Gordon and MacPhail Retail Shop – South Street OR by contacting Elgin BID on 01343 550652. Tickets are limited to 260 to get yours now to avoid disappointment.

Venue: Elgin Town Hall

More info:
Jacqui Taylor
jacqui@elginbid.co.uk

Read full article at source: The Northern Scot

FRESH from their Brit Awards success in London, folk rock band Mumford & Sons have confirmed they are taking to the stage in Moray for a gig at the beginning of March.

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It is the second major musical coup of 2011 for The Loft, Kinloss, which last month saw Scottish band Glasvegas play to a sell-out crowd.

Mumford & Sons this week won the Brit Awards’ most prestigious gong, The Mastercard British Album of the Year, for their debut ‘Sigh No More’. The disc has sold one million copies in the UK, and almost that number again in the US.

The four-piece had earlier performed their song ‘Timshel’ at the glitzy show at the O2 Arena, which was broadcast live on ITV.

Mumford & Sons’ gig at The Loft will be the fourth in the band’s north of Scotland tour, which also takes in Mull, Fort William, Ullapool, Stornoway, Inverness, Lerwick and Kirkwall.

The band had promised to return north, having played a number of successful small shows in bars and cafés around the Highlands two years ago.

Forming in London in 2007, Mumford & Sons consists of Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, ‘Country’ Winston Marshall and Ted Dwane.

As well as the plaudits for their album, the band has also achieved considerable success in the UK singles chart with songs including ‘Little Lion Man’, ‘Winter Winds’, ‘The Cave’, and ‘Roll Away Your Stone’.

They are renowned for their energetic live performances, with band members regularly switching their array of instruments while on stage.

Tickets for the March 4 gig at The Loft, priced £20, are only available in person from Sound and Vision, Elgin. They go on sale at 10am today (Saturday), limited to two per person. (most likely already sold out….)

Great opportunity for B&B owners to promote their business and the MoraySpeyside area:

Channel 4 is back to make a second series of Four In a Bed and you could be a part of it.

• Do you think you have a great B&B?
• Would you like to show the nation why they should book in?
• Do you think your business knowledge would make you a good judge of other peoples B&Bs?

They would like to talk to passionate and out-going Bed and Breakfast owners for the second series of Channel Four’s popular Four In a Bed.

They are looking for B&B owners who feel they have something special to offer their customers – and are willing to put their businesses to the test. They’re looking for a wide range of B&Bs, but they’ll all be run by proud B&B owners.

For more information please contact Studio Lambert ASAP on fourinabed@studiolambert.com Please state the name of the B&B that you run, your contact details and tell us why you are so proud of your business.

Moray was in the spotlight last weekend as part of VisitScotland’s My Scotland marketing campaign. The campaign is specifically targeting Scots to holiday at home and capitalises on the popularity of the staycation trend.

With around 40 per cent of trips in Scotland taken by those who live here, the campaign encourages residents to leave their passports at home and discover some of the many unique delights their own country has to offer.

Expected to reach more than three million people across the country, the My Scotland campaign includes major media partnerships with the Daily Record, online advertising and a series of outstanding special offers which can be viewed at www.visitscotland.com/soclosetohome.