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Cairngorms ViSIT Forum 
13/09/06 Paper 2 


Cairngorms Visitor Guide 2007 

Prepared by: Heather Galbraith, Sustainable Tourism Officer 

Purpose: To update members on arrangements for the Cairngorms Visitor Guide 2007 


1. Background 

For the last three years, VisitScotland have produced a visitor guide to the Cairngorms 
National Park, in association with the CNPA. 

The total cost of the 2006 visitor guide was in the region of £30,000. CNPA contributed £7k 
subsidy and, after disappointing advertising sales of only around £10k, VisitScotland had to 
make up the shortfall. 

VisitScotland are not in a position to contribute financially to the Cairngorms Visitor Guide 
2007, other than by covering distribution costs as in previous years. CNPA has 10k budgeted 
to support production. 

Advice was received from the ViSIT forum at the last two meetings as recorded in the 
minutes. 

Initial discussions were held with the publisher of Park i, a commercial publication containing 
comprehensive listings information for the Cairngorms National Park, with a view to Park I 
being endorsed by VisitScotland and the CNPA as the official visitor guide to the area. 
However, there was conflict between Park i’s aim of being fully comprehensive, and 
VisitScotland’s criteria that only quality-assured businesses can feature in their publications. 
At the ViSIT Forum meeting on 18th May, there was also a strong feeling that there was an 
advantage in retaining both publications as they were seen to serve different purposes. 


2. The way forward 

Accepting the need to cover the remaining costs and acknowledging that realistically the 
commercial sector are better placed to generate advertising spend, the decision was made to 
put production of the 2007 guide out to tender to two companies in the commercial sector who 
had a track record on producing publications of this kind: Ice Publishing (producers of Park i) 
and Courier Publications (producers of the other VisitScotland Highland area visitor guides). 

Ice Publishing declined to tender for the work and the contract was awarded to Courier 
Publications who will produce it on a commercial basis. The CNPA financial contribution will 
go to increase print and design quality relative to the other Highland Visitor Guides. The 
format for the 2007 guide will be A5, but with the same amount of imagery and editorial as 
previous guides, to ensure that the inspirational element of the publication remains. 

CNPA staff will also continue to assist Ice Publishing with production of Park i by contributing 
editorial. 


3. Timescale 

Advertising sales for the guide will commence at the end of September, and the publication 
should be signed off in January, with distribution beginning in February 2007. It is hoped that 
a proof of the guide will be available at the Forum meeting on 30th November. Distribution will 
be co-ordinated by VisitScotland through Landmark Press and the TIC network and will, as 
before, be concentrated at destination. 


CNPA 
September 2006