Fiona Hyslop
The great gift exchange!
Fiona with Sunwing's Andrew Dawson
Toronto’s gloomy yet hip Gladstone Hotel was the venue for the recent invasion of Visit Scotland as travel types convened to enjoy the hospitality and learn a bit about what’s happening in 2012.
Mike Cantlay, the Chair of Visit Scotland, greeted us with some challenging words, “It’s tough out there – and tough trading environment. But when the going gets tough, the Scottish have a tendency to get going.” He went on to trumpet some of the ongoing tourism development – including Donald Trump’s new golf resort. (Did you know Scotland has 550 golf courses?)
We also heard from Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs. And if you think that’s a mouthful, here’s her Gaelic title: Runaire à Chalbineit airson Cultair agus Chuisean Taolbh A-mulgh.
While athletes will convene next summer in London for the Olympics, Scotland will issue in 2012 as an entire Year of Culture. Special events will run all year long, including music, drama, dance, art, literature – all geared to a huge range of audiences – including Canucks, many of whom have ancestral ties to the country. (Did you know that there are 2.1 million descendents of Scots in Ontario alone?)
And to make it even easier to access, Visit Scotland was pleased to mention new Sunwing flights from Glasgow to Scotland next summer. To seal the deal, Andrew Dawson, President of Tour Operations at Sunwing – sporting a spiffy “Mo” (and matching Moatee) – presented Ms. Hyslop with a basket of Canadian goodies including mittens, maple syrup and ice wine. In return, he received a bottle of limited edition Glengoyne single malt whiskey. (Did you know that 36 bottles of whisky are exported from Scotland every second?)
As Mike Cantlay put it, “We’re just across the pond” – and obviously looking forward to welcoming many Canadians in 2012.
