Glamis looks to cash in on deal with Great Wall

Efforts made to ‘shine a light’ on a jewel in the Angus tourism crown

Glamis Castle is building new links with the important Chinese tourism market as the Angus landmark celebrates a decade-long twinning arrangement with the Great Wall.

The 600-year-old family seat of the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne has welcomed a high-powered delegation from the Penglai Pavilion – one of China’s most prestigious heritage sites with a seven-figure annual visitor tally – in the hope of “shining a light” on the jewel in the Angus tourism crown.

The hope is that the historical and cultural significance of Glamis will resonate with Chinese travellers, whose growing affluence is making them a potentially lucrative market for prestigious destinations across the globe.

Web links and staff exchanges between Glamis and the Penglai Pavilion, one of the four great towers of China, are in the pipeline to capitalise on the opportunity.

Glamis was bathed in winter sunshine for the delegation’s tour of the castle before talks on how best to promote it to the growing number of Chinese tourists visiting Scotland and the UK.

Glamis Castle’s business manager, Doreen Stout, said: “We are delighted to welcome such a senior delegation from Penglai Pavilion which has around 1.5 million visitors each year.

“Our formal Chinese twinning links with Penglai Pavilion and with the Great Wall of China now provide us with a ready platform to market Glamis more effectively in China.

“We are developing a range of actions including reciprocal web links, point of sale information about Glamis Castle and staff exchanges,” she added.

Penglai Pavilion is one of China’s four most prestigious heritage temples.

Penglai City is situated within Yantai Municipality (Shandong Province) which was twinned with Angus in 1999.

The formal agreement between Glamis and Penglai was signed at a major tourism conference in the Shangdong Province capital of Jinan in October 2006.

The Penglai Pavilion delegation was arranged by local businessman Dave Valentine MBE, who in his former role as Angus Council’s economic development chief was responsible for facilitating the original agreement between Glamis and Penglai.

Mr Valentine said: “I’m proud of the business to business links we established between Angus and China and especially this link between Glamis and Penglai.

“As everyone is now aware, China has emerged as a significant market for tourism and I’m keen to play my part in realising a dividend from this work.”

Visit Scotland regional director Jim Clarkson added: “I’m sure the visit will offer valuable insight on how we can shine a spotlight on one of Angus’ greatest assets in an important emerging market for Scottish tourism.”

Weare delighted to welcome such a senior delegation from Penglai Pavilion. DOREEN STOUT

A delegation from Penglai Pavilion in Yantai visited Glamis Castle to mark 10th anniversary of the twinning with the Great Wall of China, left. A special cake was cut to mark the occasion.

Picture: Andy Thompson.