Happy St Andrew, Andrea, Andre, Andreas, Andreea’s Day!

There is no St Malcolm’s Day - or St Malcolm at all for that matter - but I’ve recently learnt that it was during the reign of King of Scots, Malcom III, that St Andrew’s Day was designated as a Scottish festival. It’s doubtful that my namesake had VisitScotland’s newest campaign in mind when he chose to dedicate a day to celebrating our patron saint, but we are grateful to him nonetheless.

The VisitScotland mission? To bring together (what we believe to be) the biggest group of Andrews (including men and women called Andre, Andrea, Andreea and Andreas) EVER to enjoy a spectacular two days in the ancient Fife town of St Andrews.

A team of dedicated and kilted VisitScotland staff scoured four of Europe’s capital cities – London, Paris, Berlin and Dublin – to bring a staggering 21 ‘Andrews’ back to Scotland as part of our Spirit of Scotland campaign.

The Andrews got to enjoy a number of activities on their visit, all of which can be seen in the below unique short film which launches today, aimed at our key UK and European markets showcasing the warmth, fun, humour and generosity of the Spirit of Scotland.

We are encouraging Scots and prospective visitors to share the video, which promotes the warmth of the Scottish people and their unique #ScotSpirit, via social media. Be sure to share it with family, friends and colleagues – especially those named Andrew – along with #ScotSpirit.

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a happy St Andrew’s Day, whether you’re from Scotland or just love Scotland - enjoy the video.