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The Cabinet Minister for Rural Economy and Tourism, Fergus Ewing, has announced his intention to re-open the Scottish tourism sector for business from the 15th July. As such Scottish businesses in the sector are now being advised to prepare to open, with strict adherance to government guidelines and with all appropriate safety recommendations in place, on or after that date.

Hermitage Castle, Newcastleton [Photo: Visit Scotland/ Paul Tomkins]

The tourism industry in the UK has been hit hard with shops, hotels and restaurants being asked to closed down virtually overnight when it became clear the deadly strain of Coronavirus was sweeping through the country unhindered. For some, the government’s unprecedented furlough scheme has brought a measure of relief and will ensure the business will still be able to open again, but the full impact of the safety recommendations on infrastructure and staffing levels, remains to be seen.

For GT Passport, the lockdown had severely impacted the ability to engage with businesses along its Grand Touring routes in the UK and EU. Now that the sector is begining to see a new dawn approaching, GT Passport will, once again, be reaching out to businesses around the South of Scotland, The Midlands, East Anglia, Wales and the Southern England, to help support their engagement with staycationers and road-trippers. The pent up demand for these kinds of holidays has the potential to create a boom in domestic travel. GT Paspsort aims to ensure that the rural and remote economies which are so often bypassed by tourism agencies will also be able to enjoy an uptick in visitors.

The Kelpies, Falkirk [Photo: Visit Scotland/ Kenny Lam]

Of course, increased visitor numbers can also create problems for some communities, and for a few, a growth in visitor numbers may be unwelcome. GT Passport’s goal to support the local businesses, by increasing foot-fall along the promoted routes, includes a willingness to engage with these local communities to understand how best to mitigate the negative impacts of tourism, while still drawing out the enormous benefits of attracting visitors.

The Dunbar Bear [Photo: Visit Scotland/ Kenny Lam]

But in the mean time, as Scotland prepares to re-open for business, GT Passport is preparing interactive guidebooks for both “The High Road” and “South of Scotland” grand touring routes and invites businesses that have a presence along these routes to get involved and secure a full-page listing inside the books and on the GT Passport website.

For more information of the GT Passport touring routes in Scotland, England & Wales, and the EU, visit GTpassport.com. Alternatively, you can email info@gtpassport.com or send a Direct Message to Skinidin House Media via LinkedIn.

Throughout June and July, @GTPassport will be posting a virtual tour of the routes on Instagram starting with the South of Scotland. Please follow to see more.

Bridges over The River Forth [Photo: Visit Scotland/ Stuart Brunton]

Main Image: The South of Scotland grand touring route [photo: Visit Scotland/ Cut Media]

GT Passport is pleased to announce that Glasgow-based Chauffeur Drive firm, Palladium Executive Hire, has become a Route Sponsor for the South of Scotland grand touring route. The company is ideally placed to provide chauffeur-driven tours of the route for those who feel less comfortable driving Scotland’s breathtaking roads themselves.

Based near Glasgow Airport, the firm, founded in 2008 by Asif Ali, has provided high quality chauffeur drive and award-winning wedding car services for over a decade, and continues to offer a choice of pristine vehicles for touring, airport transport and corporate travel. By sponsoring GT Passport, Palladium Executive Hire will be well placed to help visitors experience the scenery and culture of the region from the comfort of a chauffeur-driven Mercedes. With a choice of vehicles, including the roomy V-Class, the spacious S-Class Limousine, or the comfortable E-class luxury saloon, clients will be treated to an bespoke guided tour by an experienced chauffeur who knows the region intimately.

Speaking of the multi-year arrangement, Palladium Executive Hire’s owner Asif Ali said, “GT Passport offers a tremendous showcase for Scotland’s less visited areas, and provides an excellent opportunity for businesses to boost their footfall, especially after facing such a tough time in early 2020. I’m very proud to be able to offer GT Passport users an alternative to driving the route, and can tailor the experience to suit the individual clients we serve.”

GT Passport’s Route Co-ordinator in Scotland, Ally Campbell, said, “Palladium’s expertise in high quality chauffeur drive shines through with a thoroughly modern approach to serving clients, while maintaing exceptional standards recognised across the hospitality industry in this region. I’m delighted to welcome Asif and his team at Palladium Executive Hire to the GT Passport family and look forward to working with them to make the visitor experience unforgettable.”

GT Passport Route Sponsorship lasts for 3-Years, and is open to more than one sponsor.

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Notes For Editors:

Palladium Executive Hire was founded in 2008 by Dumbartonshire businessman Asif Ali. The chauffeur driven fleet include Mercedes, Bentley and Rolls Royce cars and even an Imperial Viscount Wedding Car all maintained to the highest possible standards. Touring clients are typically best served by the Mercedes V-Class People carrier. Palladium’s team of Chauffeurs are highly experienced and are only selected having previously served at the highest levels of the chauffeur drive industry.

GT Passport presents a series of touring routes in the UK and Europe, for self-organised scenic road-trips. GT Passports are guidebooks which feature participating businesses along the route, including hotels, restaurants, cafes, tourist attractions, scenic highlights and activities, where users can collect stamps on their guidebook. The grand trouring routes range from 400 to over 1000 miles and typically take between 4 and 14 days to complete depending on the user’s preferences and constraints.

The Routes are:
The High Road
A scenic route from Berwick-upon-Tweed to Fort William

The South of Scotland
A circular route around the southern part of Scotland including the East and West coasts, the Southern Border and the Route of the Forth and Clyde Canal.

The Midlands Loop
A large figure-of-eight loop centred in the West Midlands, at Stratford upon Avon, and looping East to the Norfolk Coast, and West to North Wales and Snowdonia.

Southern England
The entire length of the southern coast of Britain, from Dover to Land’s End, does not even cover half of this fascinating route which also includes the Cotswalds, Oxfordshire and Sussex, in a part of the world forever known as a “Green and Pleasant Land”.

The Road of Champions
This international route from Frankfurt to Paris – two of the biggest transport hubs in Europe – takes drivers off the Motorway network and into the incredible country roads of North-West Germany, Southern Belgium and North-East France. The route passes by three of the world’s great historic racing circuits – The Nurburgring, Spa-Francorchamps, and Reims-Gueux.

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