Scottish Golf Survey

The SGU, working in partnership with Scottish Enterprise and Event Scotland, [sic it is all one word!] has commissioned KPMG to conduct an exercise to assess the economic value of golf in Scotland and, importantly, the prospects for the future. We would appreciate your contribution by participating in our survey at the link below, which should take no longer than 2 minutes to complete. Your views are vitally important to the success of this project.

Okay, when you see the email's from these four bodies you think this may be important. It certainly adds gravitas.

You would of course assume that an industry survey sent out to golf businesses across Scotland ahead of a major seminar to discuss golf (10th annual Golf Business Forum in St Andrews from 3 to 5 June 2013) and supported and perhaps even funded by public money would have been proof read?

There is a sense that the survey has lost something, shall we say, in the translation. This is not however the fault of the Hungarian market researcher who has sent it out but you would have thought that maybe someone would have picked it up at one of the three esteemed bodies associated with it!!

Where do you start? the use of the word "loss" instead of reduction? A ranking list where everything can be ranked as 1? The Americanised spelling of Programs? The misspelling of "associations" in a drop down list?

Or as one golf tour operators has said the biggest mistake must be in question four

4. Assuming significant ongoing governmental support for the golf industry, what is the maximum growth you would see achievable on industry level?

As the wag points out, the oxymoronic phrase is pretty clear... "significant ongoing governmental support".

The point of the post? Well as someone who gets lots of spelling wrong but usually without the support of the SGU, Scottish Enterprise and EventScotland it just seemed fair to point out that if inclusion and involvement of the industry is important then respect should be given to the intelligence of the audience being engaged with.

Yes you could argue this whole post is pedantic. The flip side is you could say it is reflective of the collaborative malaise.

Take the survey

Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics

It is true what they say about statistics. And of course it's up to you as the reader to take what you want from any story. So here's two rather different slants on the same report. Quite amusing and does again make you wonder whether VS think none of us in the tourism sector are grown up enough to be able to hear bad news and to take the bitter reality pill?

Does everything on the B2B site have to be painted as a good news story when we all clearly know otherwise. 

BBC Scotland Website

Full Article

VisitScotland.org Website

Full article

Every Little Helps with Direct Bookings

How do you increase direct bookings  Well our series of articles has highlighted just some of the small things you can do to "reduce friction". Add all of these small things together and you WILL see a difference in conversion.

What do we mean? Well simply put, it means accommodation providers must remove anything that disincentivises the visitor to book on their site.

Don't say phone for late availability. Don't offer better prices and availability on OTA's and use all the graphical tools in your control to get the guest to click where they want to go.

Gailes Hotel today have ticked another box with the dropping in of clear calls to action on their booking page. You're in little doubt where to go here are you? They have created their own buttons making navigation easier but also reinforced their brand identity at the same time.

Great job again by the team at Simpsinns.

Check out how the Bookassist powered booking engine looks for yourself - or better just Book Direct

Highland Tourism Workshop - Mountain Biking

This new workshop can help your tourism business or cycling business to grow your business and attract more visitors.

Mountain biking is already worth £119 million to the Scottish economy, and it's set to grow by 30% in the next 5 years.

This workshop will explain the market opportunity, allow you to hear from those who are already succeeding in the niche, and stimulate your thinking as to what this means for your business in an innovation session.

What you will find out

• Insights on the key visitor markets and how to make the most of this intelligence
• Information on the new trail at Glenlivet and other local trails and centres
• Inspiration - a local business shares its success secrets
• Top Tips and practical steps for you to take
• Tools and intelligence available on the DMBinS website such as photography and trails that can be downloaded by business to use in their marketing material
• A 'So What?' creative session helping you to come up with innovative ideas for you to make the most of the opportunities in mountain biking tourism
• Test the new e-learning guide developed by Borders College
• A short, optional mountain biking taster session

Date: Tuesday 30th April 2013
Venue: The Lecht Ski Centre
Time: 9.30 am to 1.15 pm, followed by a one-hour mountain biking taster session.
Price: £20 per person. Includes lunch, light refreshments and all equipment for taster session.

For more information, and to register, please visit Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland

Ryder Cup Opening Concert to cost up to £1.2 million

You may have picked up the triumphal announcement by the Scottish Government VisitScotland that they were planning a major concert to mark the start of the Ryder Cup. (We have not missed out an adjunct between Scottish Government and VisitScotland - we accept that some in the tourism business can't tell the difference between the two bodies anymore as they become more homogeneous and referendum focused!)

What may have skipped everyone's attention and indeed ours was that the Scottish Government VisitScotland have allocated up to £1.2 million for aforementioned opening concert for the Ryder Cup!

Yup £1.2 million pounds of public money on a pre-event event that makes the private sector organisers buckets and buckets. Nothing of course to do with the referendum immedaitely before it. Nope that would be cynical and churlish.

The tender document described the goods and services to be provided as thus:

"This is a contract to engage a promoter to devise and deliver a once in a lifetime concert to mark the beginning of the Ryder Cup week, delivered on behalf of the Scottish Government." (sic the tender was issued by VisitScotland - as mentioned one and the same really)
It is intended that the support for this event will be in the range of £800,000 to £1,200,000 depending on the funding requirements tendered for the Services."

What added value? What additional visitor numbers? What direct revenues? What return on investment? What opportunity cost? What an ego trip...

The Ryder Cup is a private event (if you ask Scotland's golf tourism operators a VERY private event) with massive profitability from the sale of rights, merchandising, tickets, packages and licencing.

Yet here we have a cash strapped country paying £1.2 million of public funds for a bloody concert. And we just stand around and applaud and say "Well the profile will be good for tourism." Yeah a bit like the £6 mill spent on Brave?

Once the BBC have run out of Rangers stories (accepted that may take a while!) wouldn't it be great if they could just go through the list of tender documents under VisitScotland over the past three years and maybe just ask the occasional pertinent question to those in charge?

Dream on.

Ayrshire and Arran Tourism Gathering

Got an invite to an industry gathering in Irvine from Ayrshire and Arran Tourism and VisitScotland. We did think it may have been on their industry facing communications website by now right enough...

Download the PDF here.

"Ayrshire & Arran Tourism Team in partnership with VisitScotland would like to invite you to take part in a Tourism Gathering to explore how we can best work together to drive tourism growth in Ayrshire & Arran.

The event will allow businesses to collaborate, network and discuss opportunities and priorities for their individual business and for Ayrshire & Arran as a destination.

We would be delighted if you could join us at Menzies Irvine Hotel, 46 Annick Rd, Irvine, KA11 4LD on Tuesday 30 April 2013 between 10am and 4:30pm - a networking lunch will be provided.

During the day there will be presentations on the Ayrshire & Arran Tourism Strategy and insights into the Ayrshire & Arran visitor. Delegates will have the opportunity to participate in two of four workshops which will focus on Using Themed Itineraries, Watersports, The Ayrshire & Arran Tourism Industry Online Portal and Working with the Media.

There will also be a question and answer session during the day which will give you the opportunity to pose any questions you may have.

You can register online now at: http://aatourismconference.eventbrite.com/ Registration closes on at 12 noon on Friday 26 April 2013.

For those travelling from Arran transport will be provided to and from the ferry port at Ardrossan and Menzies Irvine Hotel. Please ensure you select this option when registering.

Partner stands

A number of exhibitor tables are available to industry partners free of charge. Delegates will have the chance to network with industry partners during breaks and dedicated networking time on the agenda.

If you would like to take one of the exhibitor tables please contact Laura Cree, Ayrshire & Arran Tourism Team by emailing laura.cree@ayrshire-arran.org"

St Andrews - Your Final Bid Is?

The couple of you who read this blog can often be forgiven for thinking that we only tilt at the windmilll of VisitScotland but that's really not true. We're really just pretty much anti-establishment full stop!!

So here's Friday's rant... and the target is the much loved custodians of the Links golf courses in St Andrews known as the Links Trust St Andrews.

There are many in the golf industry who think that their management of prime times at Scotland's golfing jewel has been less than fair and open and indeed detrimental to the local and national economy but it's not the selling of extortionately priced Old Course tee times through exclusive distributors that we're hitting on today.

We've been sent an email linking to te publication of the following trademark request.

Yes that's right. St. Andrews Links Ltd have applied to trademark the name of ST ANDREWS and you can view the full application here

Now if I was a business in St Andrews, or the council, or involved in golf, or tourism or lived in Scotland or ever had a sniff of whisky I would be looking at this link with incredulity and asking how can anyone take intellectual property rights and trademark over the name of our bloody patron saint!!!

They have applied to trademark the name across almost every imagineable activity!! Here's the list of areas they wish to protect for their own use:

Prerecorded CDs, CD-ROMs relating to golf; computer games software; computer and video game cartridges; computer game software for hand-held units for playing video games; video tapes, laser discs and DVDs featuring golfing activities, the sport of golf and the history of golf. Jewellery; watches; cases for watches.Class Publications, namely, books and magazines relating to golf and sport; calendars; photographs, mounted and unmounted; stationery; printed score cards; printed instructional and teaching material on the subject of golf; printed golf course guides, posters; maps; prints; pictorial prints; photographic prints. Golf umbrellas; luggage. Drinking glasses; decanters; coasters not of paper.Golf towels. Golf balls; golf clubs; divot repair tools; head covers for golf clubs; golf bags. Advertising; business management; business administration; office functions.Arranging and conducting tours and trips; Arranging, organizing, and conducting tours and trips in the field of golf. Hotel and restaurant reservation services; Hotel, restaurant and bar services; Hotels; Resort hotels; Resort lodging service. Health spa services for health and wellness of the body and spirit offered at a health resort; Health spa services, namely, cosmetic body care services.

WOW!

Now once again, just so we're clear they wish to TRADEMARK the name St Andrews!

Dare I be so bold to suggest St Andrews Links Trust that you should have NO CHANCE. 

To those of us unsure of copyrights issues and trademark law it just seems completely Unbloodylievable and stinks of complete and utter organisational arrogance.

So what should you do? Well we could publish the email address of the Links Trust and it would probably take down their servers so we wont! 

In our humble opinion St Andrews Links Ltd should just do the decentt thing and withdraw their application but I guess that is not likely. So here's how it goes and the rules of engagement set out on the IPO website where the application has been published and if anyone wishes to oppose it please get in touch.

Opposition Proceedings

What is opposition? 

When a trade mark application has successfully completed the examination process it is accepted and published in the on-line Trade Marks Journal. It is then open to any third party (an opponent) to oppose its registration on either absolute and/or relative grounds. It is possible to oppose the entire application or the registration of the mark for only some of the goods and services.

What are absolute grounds?

The absolute grounds cover defects in the trade mark itself. The most common reasons for opposing a trade mark application is that the trade mark is descriptive of the goods and/or services for which it is to be registered, or that it is generic for those goods/services, or otherwise non-distinctive and should therefore be free for everyone in that line of trade to use.

What are relative grounds?

Relative grounds means that there exists an earlier trade mark or earlier right (which does not have to be registered) owned by the opponent with which the applicant‟s trade mark would conflict if it were used. Who can oppose a trade mark application?

Anyone can oppose the application on absolute grounds but only the proprietor of an earlier trade mark or earlier right may oppose on relative grounds. 

When can opposition be filed? 

There is an initial two month opposition period beginning with the date of the publication of the trade mark in the Trade Marks Journal.

How can I oppose a trade mark application and what does it cost? 

If you want to oppose the registration of a trade mark then you must file a TM7
Notice of opposition and statement of grounds' accompanied by a £200 fee.
Guidance notes on how to fill in the form are available from the web site at:

In our opinion it would