Barclays Scottish Open boost to Lossie
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Barclays boost predicts Tony Rook
LOSSIEMOUTH and Moray are handily placed to benefit from the Barclays Scottish Open, insists a local business leader.
The elite of world golf will descend on Castle Stuart on the Moray Firth at the beginning of July for the European Tour event.
Tony Rook, chairman of Lossiemouth Business Association, believes the town could be set for an economic spin-off from the event.
With 80,000 visitors expected for the tournament, the Lossiemouth newsagent says the town is ideally placed to market itself as a place to stay and visit by golf fans.
Mr Rook believes accommodation providers and cafés/restaurants are best placed to benefit when the tournament makes its debut at Castle Stuart from July 7-10.
However, with the European Tour committed to the next three years at the venue to the east of Inverness, Mr Rook said Lossiemouth and the wider Moray area has the chance to raise its profile as a golfing and tourism destination.
"It is a good way of trying to get people to visit the area, and hopefully then they will see what it has to offer," he said.
"If people come up for the golf they may come back in the future on holiday."
He insists the 30-miles from Moray to the Castle Stuart makes Lossiemouth, and other local towns, ideal places for golf fans to base themselves.
"I hope the town gets a spin-off and I would like to see more visitors in the town during the golf," he added.
With doom and gloom surrounding the uncertainty over RAF Lossiemouth and closure of RAF Kinloss, Mr Rook said the Barclays Scottish Open is a positive opportunity that Moray has to grasp.
Lossiemouth Business Association, which has 52 members, including nine accommodation-providers, is doing a four-page spread on the town and what it has to offer in ‘Highland Life’, a publication by ‘The Northern Scot’s’ parent company Scottish Provincial Press leading up to the golf, which will be widely distributed across the Highlands and direct to golf fans.
Mr Rook believes that and other promotional activities could elevate Lossiemouth to a UK-wide audience.
The town suffered a blow earlier this year when one of two major hotels in the town, the Skerrybrae Hotel, closed its doors with the loss of 25 jobs. The hotel remains closed, despite rumours of takeover bids.
