Sunday, December 20, 2009

'Nairn as a top international destination' story gathers momentum

As previously reported on the Gurn at the beginning of last week, the tripadvisor.com prediction that Nairn will be one of the top international destination of 2010 is now gathering momentum, having been picked up by the main stream media. Scotland on Sunday are now on the case:

'CHARLIE Chaplin, Charlton Heston and Burt Lancaster were all well aware of its many charms before it faded as a holiday destination.
But the resort of Nairn, on the Moray coast, is about to undergo an extraordinary resurrection after being voted the second-most favoured global destination for 2010.'


Sandy gets a word in too:

' "We have a wonderful beach, two great golf courses and historic castles all around," said Sandy Park, convener of Highland Council and a former provost of the town. "I am absolutely delighted the town has now been recognised in this way."According to Park, Nairn – known in its Victorian heyday as the Brighton of the north – is in line for a £1 million project to smarten up the town centre.'

To read the full article head over to the Scotland on Sunday site: Tourism bible names Nairn as a global holiday hot spot. Time to paint the Regal after all?

UPDATE: According to the trip advisor information here's the winning list of a survey of 3,000 US travellers. 
'TripAdvisor TravelCast Top Five World Destinations for 2010

1. Troncones, Mexico
Boasting miles of white sand beaches, Troncones is a peaceful and secluded haven nestled between the jungle foothills of the Sierra Madre del Sur Mountains and the warm tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean.

2. Nairn, Scotland
Located on the Moray Forth coast, this small seaside town enjoys one of the sunniest climates in Scotland, and is a perfect base from which to explore the Highlands.

3. El Chalten, Patagonia
Your cell phone won't work here and the town's limited capacity means you've got to book in advance -- but you'll be richly rewarded with incredible hiking in Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

4. Patara, Turkey
With a 12-mile long beach (also a national park) and an abundance of Lycian and Roman ruins peeking out of the sand dunes, Patara is steeped in both natural beauty and history.

5. Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
This picturesque Bavarian town is celebrated not only for its well-preserved medieval buildings and walls, but also for its unspoiled setting.'

Heres' the full tripadvisor.com press release that is attracting so much interest. Trip Advisor also have a forum facility where some Nairn holiday issues have been debated this year.  It was suggested recently on Nairnshire.co.uk that quite a lot of this interest in Nairn may be due to Tilda's efforts in mentioning Nairn in the US media.

Note to all main stream media: Nairn is in Nairnshire not Morayshire or Inverness-shire and people from Nairn are not Nairnians but are traditionally referred too as Nairnites or sometimes more colloquially Nairnacs/ucs.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's a pity that the webcam has gone off line as this story is developing.

A day in the said...

Yep, and BBC Radio Scotland cover the story with Nairn being in Morayshire

Graisg said...

yeah plus Nairnians in the Newspaper article - wake up please mainstream media :-)

Anonymous said...

On the subject of webcams, the Sunnybrae one is an excellent asset. Many travellers planning visits/trips use webcams as sources of info to gain impressions about potential places to visit and Nairn is not well served. Without knowing the economics/logistics of such technology one wonders whether or not the two golf clubs and the Golf View Hotel, for example, wouldn't be prepared to set up a sim camera to the Sunnybrae and widen the town's coverage?

Bemused said...

Yell.com thinks we're in Morayshire too.

Iain said...

Nairn web cam will be online soon. The main web site got hit by hackers so settings got changed and locked out the camera. We are currently talking to both golf clubs about web cams. Anywhere else want to host one?

On our location many large databases place us in Moray - eg. eBay, PayPal.

Nairnac said...

Nairnacs or Nairnucs surely !!

Very good point about the webcams, the technology must be pretty cheap now to set up a network of good quality ones around the area - the golf clubs and golf view as mentioned plus the sailing club/harbour, caravan site and town clock/high street would be good, all linked to a central page. I like checking out webcams from places I'm thinkin of going on holiday, and also places I've been, they definitely make you want to go back.

Nice photos in the snow too.

Graisg said...

Good point Nairnac, updated the wee note for the media.
On webcams, yes a few more would be excellent. If the Wintersong could get £34,000 in funding then surely a quick off the mark webcam project to capitalize on this new found fame would be worth some funding.
I notice from the news alerts that the Press Association are now running with this.
Perhaps we will see a few journalists pacing up and down the High Street over the next few weeks?

Iain said...

Hi-res media pictures here for anyone doing a feature on Nairn http://www.visitnairn.com/media.html

Graisg said...

Update reality check:

Posted on the Times story as a comment:
'Ealond West wrote:
The last time I was there , about 3 years ago , every other building along the A96 was either derelict,boarded up or abandoned. Including the Tourist Information Office, the only worthy reason to visit as far as I'm concerned is a rare colony of Red Squirrels,which the americans thankfully seem not to have noticed. I dare say if the tourist office re opens though the persecuted Red's will be back on the list of attractions , which will number their days for sure.
Lets hope the bypass does come to pass as once off the main road I reckon Nairn will soon be forgotten. As for the beaches , Scotland has far better to offer elsewhere , with better facilities,prosperous towns,and no traffic.'

Nairnac said...

Rather bitter comment from the unhealthily squirrel obsessed Ealond West !

He's right about the buildings though. The contrast between the shiny new polis station and the splendid community centre now highlights even more starkly the need for resolution of the saga of the Sommerfield site, bus station and church.

ps I hope Mr West wakes up to find the squirrels have nicked his nuts.