As an excited crowd waved off a colourful and international flotilla of historic and modern craft as they began a five day journey along the Caledonian Canal in June, the inaugural ‘Crossing’ gave a hint of the huge potential of this 60 mile long waterway to help drive tourism across the Highlands.
Autumn 2009
‘The Crossing’, which attracted 40,000 spectators along road and towpath and 12,500 to public events along the route, was British Waterways Scotland’s contribution to Homecoming Scotland 2009.
Reflecting the themes of Homecoming Scotland 2009, The Crossing featured a programme of water and land-based activities celebrating the cultural, social and economic contribution of The Caledonian Canal over the years.
From sailing lessons and a local food and drink fair through to traditional music, street theatre and storytelling, The Crossing told the rich story of a canal built originally as a commercial route but which today supports local communities and businesses and contributes a significant 14% of tourism spend in the Highlands.
With 32% of visitors saying that the event was their main reason for visiting the area and 55% staying for four nights or more, The Crossing demonstrated the huge potential of The Caledonian Canal to help drive and support the development of tourism across the region.
Such was the public, community and participant response, plans are now afoot to grow The Crossing into an international calendar event by 2020 - the two hundred year anniversary of the popular and scenic Caledonian Canal.
The Crossing doesn’t stand alone though. It complements a raft of partnerships and projects we support to further the growth of tourism within the Highlands. These include the Caledonian Canal Canoe Trail which we have developed with our partners, the Highland Council, Scottish Natural Heritage, Forestry Commission Scotland and the Scottish Canoe Association, to exploit a burgeoning market and which we are currently seeking funding for.
We also hope to work at a strategic level with VisitScotland, pooling our resources to achieve strong joint marketing campaigns drawing new visitors to this spectacular region.
STOP PRESS…
Caledonian Canal Recognised by Highlands and Islands Tourism Awards
As we go to press, we have learned that the Caledonian Canal has been short-listed in the Best Visitor Experience category of the Highlands and Islands Tourism Awards which will take place on Friday 20th November.
Do you have a comment to make on this story or do you want to get involved in The Crossing 2010? Please get in touch by emailing joanna.harrison@britishwaterways.co.uk
