A DIGITAL marketing campaign targeting the “hound pound” – the money spent by pet-owners who take their four-legged friends on holiday – has been awarded £20,000 by VisitScotland.
With the first award from its new-look Growth Fund, the tourism organisation has match-funded the £40,000 Paws for a Break campaign led by the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers’ (ASSC) Embrace Scotland website.
Embrace Scotland features more than 7,000 self-catering properties throughout the country, all owned or managed by the ASSC’s 600 members. More than half of members accept pets but the ASSC is keen to encourage more of them to promote their animal-friendly credentials.
VisitScotland research showed 30 per cent of holidaymakers base their break around how suitable a destination is for their pet, and 72 per cent of dog owners say they would take more holidays in the UK if there were a better attitude towards pets.
Further research showed that holidays with pets had an average extra spend of £126.
The ASSC, via the Embrace Scotland website, aims to show that taking a self-catering property is “the easiest and most flexible way of holidaying with a pet”, while also highlighting the fact that dogs aren’t the only pets people can take on holiday. Members will be encouraged to share their “pet guest” stories on Facebook and Twitter.
Linda Battison, ASSC executive committee member, said: “Many members already provide a warm welcome to pet owners but we want to encourage them to go that extra mile and ensure potential customers know what they offer.”
Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of VisitScotland, said: “Pet tourism could be worth millions of pounds to Scotland’s visitor economy so we are delighted to help the ASSC as they attempt to unlock this potentially lucrative market.”
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