Ed Forrest Galloway Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere UNESCO Trail • Scotland is home to 35 UNESCO sites and projects • 13 of these are physical sites that can be visited – 6 World Heritage Sites, 2 UNESCO Global Geoparks, 2 Biospheres and 3 Creative Cities • International Value of UNESCO Badge • Idea originated in 2016 • Steering group formed in 2018 • Chair - CEO SNH Franesca Osowska • UK National Commission for UNESCO • Visit Scotland • Representatives from the 13 UNESCO Designated Sites UNESCO Trail Sites in Scotland Biosphere Reserves World Heritage Sites • Galloway & Southern Ayrshire • The Forth Bridge • Wester Ross • Frontiers of the Roman Empire: Antonine Creative Cities Wall • Dundee UNESCO City of Design • Heart of Neolithic Orkney • Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature • New Lanark • Glasgow UNESCO City of Music • Old and New Towns of Edinburgh Global Geoparks • St Kilda • Geopark Shetland • North West Highlands UNESCO Trail Proposal • Digital Trail linking together the 13 UNESCO sites • Web page for each UNESCO Trail Site • Focused on Sustainable Tourism • Promoting “World Class Scotland” • Association with other iconic Scottish sites • Part of a National and International Marketing Campaign The UNESCO Trail Offer…. Challenges • What is the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere Offer ? • Where can you visit to get a genuine Biosphere Experience? • Which businesses are acknowledging that they are in a UNESCO Biosphere? • Are there staff who have some understanding of the Biosphere designation? Explore the Biosphere Biosphere Experiences Biosphere Communities Biosphere Breaks UNESCO Trail • Questions….??? Networking • What are the USPs of the UNESCO Biosphere – our region – what do your customers rave about when they come to you? • Q1 – 15min Networking • So we have all these fantastic USPs how can we put them together to create a truly memorable day or multi day experience that will give visitors a real taste of what our UNESCO Biosphere represents? • Q2 – 15min.