Tourists told 'bienvenue en Speyside'
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VISITORS to Speyside can now access information in their own language thanks to a group of local pupils.
Modern language students at Speyside High teamed up with the Speyside Visitor Centre to create leaflets in French, German and Spanish.
They will now be available to many of the 6000-plus tourists who access the community-run facility every year.
Principal teacher of modern languages David Burns said the young linguists researched local attractions as well as accommodation providers and other tourist spots.
After completing their translation work, the S2 pupils created eye-catching leaflets, which can now be picked up at the visitor centre, based in Aberlour's former railway station.
Bill Malcolm, a trustee of the Aberlour Community Association and one of the team of volunteers who runs the centre and adjoining tearooms, thanked the pupils for their hard work.
He said: "Numbers have been increasing steadily over the last four years and last year we had 6300 visitors through our doors – a huge amount of them are from abroad.
"We have been developing a good partnership with Speyside High School because they have the language skills at their disposal and they are happy to give us that help.
"It enhances our provision for our foreign visitors and it is also very good for the young people. Tourism is so important in this area and there are jobs that pupils could access in the future – in hospitality, the whisky industry, visitor centres and so on – so it is good language experience for them, it is good for us and it is good for the people coming to the area. Everyone wins."
In addition to the new leaflets, senior pupils have also translated the centre's Frequently Asked Questions into both French and Spanish and a German translation is also being prepared.
That covers information on whisky, the history of Aberlour and surrounding communities and details about the Speyside Visitor Centre, which was taken over by the local community in 2014.
Volunteers man the facility from 10am-5pm daily from April to the end of October and provide information on attractions, accommodation, transport, food and drink, local history, genealogy and and more.
