Spending on culture year revealed

The report evaluates the impact of the Year of Culture

More than £44m of investment was attracted to Scotland's Year of Highland Culture 2007, an evaluation report on its impact has shown.

But the assessment found only a 1.3% increase in visitor numbers to local attractions.

Spending by visitors was also reported to have been worth £6.1m.

The report also details criticisms from promoters and of Gaelic communities for not capitalising more on opportunities during the year.

Culture Minister Linda Fabiani said the Year of Highland Culture was significant for many different reasons and the evaluation clearly identified it as a great example of public sector partnership working.

YEAR IN NUMBERS A total of £6.4m was invested directly in the Highland 2007 organisation; £3.1m directly into the celebration's supported projects and £3.6m of in-kind support. Capital projects received £31.6m. VisitScotland committed £2m in-kind support for marketing. A gap in promoting the brand across Scotland was found and 60% of people surveyed and living outside the Highlands and Islands had no awareness of the year's programme. Highland 2007 created 326 full-time jobs and an associated income totalling £6.6m Repeat visits to the Highlands and Islands by people attracted to the region by Highland 2007 are, at a conservative estimate, expected to generate £260,000. About 50,000 people watched the year's fireworks finale staged on the Kessock Bridge at Inverness.

She added: "Highland 2007 reached out to so many people, providing a legacy for celebration of Highland culture.

"It has also set the scene for the fast-approaching Year of Homecoming in 2009 when everyone with a connection to Scotland is being encouraged to 'come home' and enjoy Scotland's achievements and culture."

Describing Highland 2007 as one of the "most ambitious and complex cultural projects ever staged in the UK", the authors of the report go on to say the scale of the programme was far greater than originally anticipated.

It included 500 events or projects, 136 capital projects and a series of activities in schools. Attendance figures were found to have been high.

In jobs terms, 326 full-time posts were created as a result of the celebration.

Meanwhile, the BBC was reported to have had 27 million hours of audience viewing and listening to Highlands-related material during the year.

However, the report said the Highland 2007 marketing team was under resourced and, while 76% of media stories were positive, most of this coverage was from newspapers based in the Highlands and Islands.

The report said: "Highland 2007 made little impact generally in the Scottish or UK wide press."

It added: "There were examples of significant stories in the Scottish press concerning high profile Highland 2007 supported events which did not make reference to the year."

HIGHLAND 2007 FACT FILE The Highland Promise - An Gealladh Mor - was activities co-ordinated by schools. Of all the events staged, 64% were arts-related. The UCI Mountain Bike World Championships and Trials and Adventure Racing World Championships were included in the programme. The Sundowe, a musical described as a cross between Michael Jackson's Thriller and zombie horror spoof Shaun of the Dead and winner of the Highland Quest was performed during 2007. A dedicated website recorded 327,000 unique visits across the year.

Criticisms from some promoters about aspects of the funding process and from within the Gaelic community about its failure to capitalise more on the opportunities on offer were also mentioned.

The evaluation was carried out over a three year period, from May 2005 until June 2008, and examined what happened before, during and immediately after Highland 2007.

It aimed to measure the success of Highland 2007 in achieving its aims and objectives with particular focus on the process, accountability, impacts and legacy.

Highland 2007 aimed to promote the Highlands as a great place to live and to visit through showcasing the unique and special nature of Highland culture past, present and future.

The project involved three main funding agencies - Highland Council, Scottish Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.