Date :
24/02/2015
A new group has been created especially to boost tourism in the Tweed Valley following the ongoing success of the mountain biking industry in the region.
The Tweed Valley Mountain Biking Stakeholder Group, which is made up of organisations including Scottish Enterprise, Forestry Commission Scotland and Scottish Borders Council, has been formed to encourage more tourists to visit the Tweed Valley.
The group held its first meeting last week and is expected to meet on a regular basis in the upcoming months to develop tourism opportunities associated with mountain biking. The Tweed Valley, which is already extremely popular with mountain bikers, is home to trails such as Glentress, Innerleithen and 7Stanes which attract thousands of biking enthusiasts every year.
Last year, Glentress was named UK Trail of the Year for 2014, receiving the prestigious iBikeRide award. Its neighbouring trail, Innerleithen, was crowned second best trail in Scotland and won ninth place in the overall UK poll.
The group plan to emulate the success of the mountain biking industry and replicate this for other popular outdoor activities in the area including golf, walking and wildlife tourism.
The popularity of golf tourism particularly is set to continue after the success of the Ryder Cup last year brought millions of pounds worth of local and national tourism to the country. It’s expected by 2020 that Scotland will be the world’s leading golfing destination and the Tweed Valley Mountain Biking Stakeholder Group is hoping to use visitor’s love of the game to enhance the local economy in a similar way to Perthshire.
For top tips on making sure mountain biking visitors have a memorable experience, check out Tourism Intelligence Scotland’s Mountain Biking Guide to help unlock your business’s outdoor potential.