Attracting more people to the Isle of Bute and extending the tourism season will help with ongoing economic recovery from the impact of the pandemic.
A new bespoke sculptural welcome sign is now located in the Winter Gardens with visitors encouraged to photograph and share the Bute welcome to the rest of the world.
Promoting Bute as a visitor destination and creating new visitor attractions are long-held aspirations of the local community and businesses. The concept of a 鈥淏ute Sign鈥 was a reflection of the social media photo opportunities that encourage visitors to share images with friends and family across the world.
A welcome sign was a key action set out by Audience Development work in 2019, from the Rothesay Townscape Heritage Programme. The location captures the architecture of the Victorian seaside town, the formal waterfront gardens, as well as the Firth of Clyde and hills behind.
Through Scottish Government Town Centre Funding, the council has taken this action forward.
To further support local businesses, a new all-weather canopy has now been installed at Montague Street Gardens, Rothesay. The canopy enables businesses to extend a typical season by offering residents and visitors cover for dining and events.
Councillor Robin Currie, Policy Lead, Economy and Rural growth:
鈥淚t鈥檚 fantastic to see both the new welcome sign and canopy installed. As the local economy continues to recover from the impact of the pandemic, it鈥檚 more important than ever to help attract more people to the area and help support our local businesses. This has been a great collaboration project with Bute Community Council, Bute BID and elected members involved throughout the design process. I would like to thank everyone for making this happen.
We want to encourage everyone visiting Bute to stop at the welcome sign, make the most of the stunning backdrop and send a digital postcard across the world. Bute has so much to offer and we hope by promoting all that it has to offer, more visitors will experience the island.鈥