A partnership designed to boost the number of short breaks taken in Loch Lomond and Glasgow has been given £34,000 by VisitScotland.

Destination marketing organisations Love Loch Lomond and Glasgow City Marketing Bureau (GCMB) have teamed up with ScotRail for a £68,000 marketing campaign, which has been match-funded through the national tourism organisation’s Growth Fund.

The campaign is aimed at potential visitors from Edinburgh and Aberdeen and will highlight the close proximity between the urban experiences of Scotland’s largest city and the scenery of Loch Lomond.

A key message is that ScotRail operates a regular train service between Glasgow Queen Street and a number of train stations in the Loch Lomond area, including Balloch which has a maximum journey time of 50 minutes.

Karen Donnelly, Manager at Love Loch Lomond, said: “Love Loch Lomond is delighted to be working in partnership with GCMB and ScotRail on this exciting new Growth Fund project linking the outdoor and urban tourism product.

"Our focus will be to offer visitors an even greater experience by providing a wider range of activities to participate in by linking the city with the beauty and tranquillity of Loch Lomond, The Trossachs and the Clyde Sea Lochs.”

The marketing activity will include the creation of a website landing pages and a short film as well as radio, online and press advertisements.

The money will also be used to host press trips and to allow the partners group to attend Travmedia International Media Marketplace in London – a showpiece media event for the travel trade.

Liz Buchanan, regional partnerships director at VisitScotland, said: “Many people may not realise just how easy it is to get from the urban excitement of Glasgow to the great outdoors of Loch Lomond.

"The VisitScotland Growth Fund is all about encouraging Scottish tourism businesses to work together and it is great to see GCMB, Love Loch Lomond and ScotRail join forces to promote these two fabulous destinations, both of which offer unique experiences for visitors.”

Alasdair Smart, ScotRail tourism manager, added: “We are involved in much more than simply moving people from A to B. This initiative offers a joined-up approach to encouraging visitors to explore what Loch Lomond has to offer, and makes the train part and parcel of the entire experience.”

The VisitScotland Growth Fund is open to groups of three or more businesses and can support well planned, inspiring and new marketing campaigns. For more information on the VisitScotland Growth Fund, please see www.visitscotland.org/growthfund