New interactive map for Falkirk and beyond

Falkirk and Beyond offers prospective visitors to the town a fun way to discover much of the area’s tourism offering.

Developed by VisitScotland and VisitFalkirk within Falkirk Council, the map is the first of its kind and it is hoped it will inspire people to plan and book their trip to Falkirk.

The map includes eight toggle categories which can be turned on and off depending on a user’s interests. These include activities, history and heritage and food and drink.

Each category highlights local businesses with pop ups, which include an image, description and a link to more information on visitfalkirk.com.

The pop ups for the Falkirk Wheel and Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway, which both have four star gradings from VisitScotland’s quality assurance scheme, include short films promoting the attractions in an engaging way.

Liz Buchanan, VisitScotland regional partnerships director, said: “Many visitors drawn by the profile of the Falkirk Wheel or the Kelpies aren’t aware of just how much there is to see and do in the compact area of Falkirk, so this new interactive map is a fun way of encouraging them to plan a longer stay in the area, stay overnight and pack much more into their stay.

“Partnership and collaboration is at the heart of Scottish tourism and we’re delighted to continue our joint marketing activity with VisitFalkirk with this latest initiative to grow the local visitor economy.”

Douglas Duff, head of economic development and planning at Falkirk Council, said: “We are extremely grateful to VisitScotland in supporting us to help further promote the area for tourism.

“We are delighted to be the first area in Scotland that they have developed such an innovative guide for. Tourism has become a major growth sector for the Falkirk area and we are keen to ensure we continue to work closely with VisitScotland to ensure the Falkirk area is recognised as a two to three day destination.”

By highlighting the vast range of activities available locally it is hoped the map will encourage people to visit Falkirk for more than a day, supporting the Tourism Falkirk 2020 strategy which aims to increase overnight visitor accommodation in the area by 20 per cent between 2015 and 2020.

The strategy aims to make Falkirk a destination of first choice for high, quality, value for money and world class attractions offering memorable customer experiences, delivered by skilled and passionate people.