TORONTO — VisitScotland welcomed travel trade, media, and alumni of schools in Scotland to its event at the Westin Harbour Castle last night, to celebrate new and returning direct flights to Glasgow and Edinburgh with WestJet.
Gary Cox, Head of Aviation of the Scottish Government along with Monica Stevenson, Team Lead, Travel Marketing, Events and XM at WestJet, and Keith Campbell, Market Manager – Canada & Golf at VisitScotland, were all on hand to spread the news.
Cox shared the excitement with WestJet’s new Toronto connections. “Scotland is now open for business. My flight to Toronto this morning was full, and our fantastic attractions as well as our hospitality sector are open. We are very much looking forward to welcoming visitors with just a passport and a plane ticket!” he said.
WESTJET FLIGHTS
Also discussing the new routes and increased connectivity between Canada and Scotland was Monica Stevenson, sharing that on average, Scotland receives upwards of 100,000 Canadian visitors annually. Meanwhile the UK is Canada’s second largest inbound tourism market.
WestJet’s service highlights include, new for summer 2022, 4x weekly service Toronto — Glasgow (May 30 – Sept. 30) and 3x weekly service Toronto — Edinburgh (June 2 – Oct. 1). Returning for summer 2022 is WestJet’s Halifax — Glasgow service, 3x weekly (May 31 – Oct. 27).
“We’re seeing very positive signs of recovery, and last week alone we had our highest number of guests since pre-pandemic and flew close to 55,000 guests. As we look ahead, compared to 2019 we have increased our seat capacity in the summer to Scotland by 130%, and we’re pleased to share these services and are excited to keep this connectivity going,” said Stevenson.
This summer WestJet will serve 43 domestic, 23 transborder, 16 Caribbean and eight transatlantic routes, marking a 94% restoration of pre-pandemic service.
SCOTLAND IS CALLING
This year VisitScotland launched a new global marketing campaign: ‘Scotland is Calling’. The campaign highlights the warm welcome, proximity of cities to unspoiled nature, landscapes, live events, romantic and mysterious history, ancestry links, and so much more that Scotland has to offer. All these elements welcome visitors to explore the destination and see why Scotland is calling.
YEAR OF STORIES 2022
Also this year, VisitScotland is celebrating stories written, inspired by, or created in Scotland for its ‘Year of Stories 2022’.
Visitors can look forward to various events by community groups, museums, heritage sites, and other visitor attractions with storytelling at the heart of it. The Year of Stories invites travellers to tell and find their own stories through their adventure in Scotland.
For more information, visit https://www.visitscotland.com/
Main photo: Keith Campbell, Market Manager – Canada & Golf at VisitScotland; Monica Stevenson, Team Lead, Travel Marketing, Events and XM at WestJet; and Gary Cox, Head of Aviation of the Scottish Government
