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‘Love Ayrshire’ Set to Bring Benefits for SAC’s Tourism Students

The launch of Love Ayrshire (opens in new window)

It’s well-known that Robert Burns’ love of the beautiful landscape in and around Ayrshire inspired his world famous romantic poetry. Now a new tourism initiative aims to inspire others to fall in love with ‘the bonnie banks of Ayr’ – hopefully bringing benefits for SAC students in the process.

SAC rural tourism lecturer Moira Birtwhistle is Chair of the Ayrshire & Arran Chamber Tourism Partnership. The group has spent the last 18 months lobbying for the area’s three local authorities to work together to attract more national and international visitors. Success was achieved recently when representatives from the Ayrshire Economic Partnership signed the new ‘Ayrshire Tourism Charter’. This sets out how the three Councils and the private sector will work together to ensure that Ayrshire and Arran’s tourism sector makes an increasing contribution to the region’s economy and communities.

Moira believes that the new initiative also offers exciting opportunities for SAC’s Ayr-based tourism students. “SAC already enjoys close links with the local tourism industry which enables students to work on real-life research projects, such as testing the feasibility of a proposed Food Hub on the Isle of Arran,” she explained.

“The growth of tourism will open up even more opportunities for our students. Ayrshire and Arran offers visitors a wide variety of experiences, from its coastal boundaries to its rural periphery and is a fantastic location for the increasing number of people seeking niche experiences, such as ‘food tourism’ or walking and cycling holidays. This offers an excellent chance for students to be involved in this rapidly expanding market as part of their courses, setting them up with the skills to pursue successful careers in the industry.”

The Ayrshire Tourism Charter was launched at the recent ‘Love Ayrshire’ event in Troon. Moira joined guests including representatives from all three local councils in the area, Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce, VisitScotland, Scottish Enterprise and a selection of local tourism businesses – all of whom, she says, are passionate about developing a positive future for tourism across Ayrshire.

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