It’s been a busy few months for new BID Co-ordinator, DL Gordon.
DL retired to the Island four years ago after spending 25 years as a health professional.
She hasn’t been idle, though, and has enjoyed a variety of jobs on Bute.
She spent two years in the finance office at Bute Island Foods, which gave her a good grounding for the admin and finance role at BID.
She also spent several seasons as a tour guide at Mount Stuart House and was a guide at the Discovery Centre this past summer.
Both of these roles offered a valuable insight into the tourism industry on the Island.
The part of her new role at BID that she is most excited about is marketing co-ordinator.
DL first got interested in marketing a few years ago when she was part of a business networking group in Glasgow.
She decided to challenge herself by entering a creative marketing competition and was very pleasantly surprised when she won.
Recently, DL decided to formalise her marketing knowledge by gaining a certificate in digital promotion for business from Glasgow Kelvin College.
Below is a summary of some of the work that has been going on at Bute BID in her fist few months in the organisation:
Digital notice board
On DL’s first week at BID, a new digital notice board was installed in Guildford Square to promote the local tourist attractions and upcoming events for the benefit of visitors and locals alike.
The next phase will be to look into the possibility of opening up this space for commercial adverts by local businesses.
Cruise ship visit
In mid September they had a visit from the impressive cruise ship, the Seabourn Sojourn.
The lovely and gracious American visitors were so impressed to be greeted on the pier by young piper, Neil Gillies.
The BID team distributed leaflets to our visitors, which included a map of the town, and information on local businesses.
A total of 300 were handed out and the visitors found them very practical and a lovely keepsake of their visit.
Bulb planting
At the beginning of October, The eco-team from Rothesay Primary School and the Pre-five’s unit were learning to plant corns and bulbs with BID’s gardener, Laura Miller.
It’ll be great to see the results of their hard work brightening up our town next Spring.
Love Local project
BID supported the launch of a sales point for the Argyll & Bute gift card in Re-Style on Montague Street.
It is hoped this initiative will encourage locals to shop local this Christmas.
Cathy Craig event
In the middle of November, Cathy Craig of the Argyll & Isles tourism co-operative and Wild About Argyll, braved the elements to visit the island and deliver a fantastic presentation to our members on the new Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 and the potential impact on hospitality and tourism related businesses.
Cathy has put together a useful guide on this legislation which can be accessed at Visitor Levy Act and Argyll & Bute Local Authority Proposals
Christmas event
Following the resignation of BID manager, Dorothy McDonald, DL picked up the baton at the eleventh hour to deliver the Christmas event this year at the Winter Garden.
With a great deal of help from many people, they had a lovely event for the local children and you can read more about it on our social media pages.
Next steps
The next steps for DL will be to complete the installation of Christmas lights in Guildford Square, update the BID membership database, and implement the marketing plan for 2025.
