Catswhiskerstours Ltd, who offer bespoke guided tours around Scotland, have devised a great way of adding value for ancestral groups.
Retired business executive Nigel Cole began Catswhiskerstours Ltd to provide exclusive, custom tours of Scotland, England and Ireland for groups of all sizes. Each tour is personally designed, covering a wide range of specialist themes to match the preference and budget of guests, including tours which have been devised to take visitors to their ancestral roots. In addition to escorted tours, they provide self-drive tours for visitors who wish to travel independently at their own pace.
Nigel says: “I quickly realised that for the ancestral market in particular, it’s really important to try and exceed visitors’ expectations and, where possible, provide them with a little ‘surprise’ which will make them feel really special and valued.
“If it’s feasible, I try and shoot some video footage of the key places connected with their ancestors and send this to them before they arrive. Not only does the package provide a real flavour of what they’ll see during their trip, but it builds excitement and anticipation to see more.
“When they’re on the tour, I write up a blog each evening and present it to them in the form of a diary, along with images, when they leave. As well as delighting them by providing a personal memento of their trip, by posting the blogs on our website I also have a ready-made marketing tool to attract future groups, so it’s a win-win situation”.
Nigel uploads blog posts on his website regularly featuring details of the ancestral tours he conducts, including video footage, information of the people featured in the tours and the places they have visited. The blog posts, as well as providing interesting content, also provide good links back to his tour site, and highlights Catswhiskerstours Ltd as a helpful source for those conducting online research into their family past. Nigel also writes his own Glasgow Ancestry blog which is a large database of tombstones from burial grounds around Glasgow.
He ensures that he takes fabulously detailed pictures on the various tour destinations around the country, posting them on his website for all to see and is very active on social media sites including Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Instagram. He provides information on the site on how people can begin tracing their family history, listing sources for people to contact including census returns, local archives, burial ground records and local family history societies.
Nigel has succeeded in creating a one stop shop for those who wish to visit the places connected to their family history and to find out more about where they come from, an impressive source of information which helps them stand out within the ancestral tourism market.
Ancestral Tourism takes people on a truly personal journey, which is memorable, emotional and creates lasting, bonding relationships for tips and advice on how to make the most of this year round commercial opportunity visit the Tourism Intelligence Scotland Ancestral Tourism Guide.