Pitlochry Festival Theatre has recently picked up a Tourism Innovation Development Award (TIDA) for their Active Arts Break project. The theatre’s award-winning new business idea makes the most of its own artistic strengths and international reputation and the wider attractions and facilities available in Highland Perthshire. Active Arts Breaks will offer opportunities to enjoy and learn about a range of arts and crafts in a relaxed and inspirational setting.
The breaks will vary from one and two-day workshops, at weekends or midweek, to occasional weekly packages offering more intensive activities and experiences. Nikki Axford, the theatre’s artistic director said, “We want to be able to offer a menu of activities. There will be visual arts, creative writing, textile crafts, environmental arts, traditional music, performance, production and theatre skills.”
The content of the breaks will be designed to be as flexible as possible to broaden their appeal and the theatre will be working closely with accommodation providers in the area to develop the Active Arts Breaks packages as well as with other visitor attractions, activity centres and travel operators.
Nikki continued, “The idea continued out of research that we’d been doing, into tourism trends. We found that people are looking for opportunities to try new things and develop their creative skills. The Theatre has been running pilot Active Arts events over the past year and the response to these has been phenomenal, with many events selling out within a couple of days.”
Nikki and her team had also been thinking about ways of boosting business at the theatre, both during the daytime and in the off-peak season. Whilst the Active Arts Breaks important in generating valuable new business for the area during the quieter autumn and winter months. The TIDA award provides funding and expert advice to help develop the Active Arts Break packages.
Julie Franchetti, Tourism Innovation Manager, Scottish Enterprise, said, “The TIDAs have proved incredibly successful since they were launched – we have received more than 120 applications to date and have 21 new winning projects. These are all excellent ideas which break new ground in the Scottish tourism sector.”
“We’re delighted about winning the award,” says Nikki. “The competition is very strong and it’s a real boost to achieve such recognition at a national level for the excellent work we do at Pitlochry Festival Theatre and the important contribution we make to the regional economy.”
Article taken from the Perthshire Tourism Newsletter – December 2004
