Agenda and minutes

Campbeltown Ferry Committee - Friday, 25 April 2014 1:00 pm

Venue: Town Hall, Campbeltown

Contact: Theresa McLetchie - Tel: 01546 604511

Items
No.	Item
1.	Apologies View the background to item 1. Minutes: Apologies were intimated from:- Councillor Anne Horn Maggie Maguire, CalMac Alison Feaks, Visit Scotland The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting which had been convened prior to the commencement of the Ferry Service operation for the 2014 period.
2.	Minute PDF 54 KB View the background to item 2. Minute of the previous meeting held on 25 October 2013. Minutes: The Minute of the meeting held on 25 October 2013 was approved as a true record.
3.	Evaluation of the Campbeltown/Ardrossan Service View the background to item 3. An update by Councillor John Semple and Martin Gorringe. Minutes: The Chair reported that the questionnaire which had been compiled by the consultants - Vector Research and JMP - was to undertake an evaluation on the impact and benefits to the local community and local businesses of the new Ferry operation. The group agreed the need for the importance of people to complete the questionnaire to gauge the effectiveness of the ferry operation. The Marine Operations manager advised the timeline for completion of the questionnaires. These would be finalised by August 2014 and a report generated at the service conclusion in September. This exercise would be repeated in 2015 and would hopefully provide a clear picture of the success of the operation and inform if it would be sustainable for future years. The group gave consideration to the following marketing initiatives:- Highlighting events and promoting local attractions in the Kintyre area - correlation of ferry crossings to 'link in' with these events. Possibility of introducing a Loyalty card for visitors to local attractions - e.g. Distilleries/hotels Liaising with local cycle clubs in the Ayrshire area - promoting the ferry service with a view to these clubs utilising local cycle routes Staging 'Comedy/Culture nights' on board the ferry Promoting the ferry service - West Sound local Ayrshire Radio Local Ambassador/Ambassadress to promote local attractions on the ferry Signage at Kennacraig - promoting Kintyre attractions Outcome: The group agreed that Maggie Maguire would be invited to a meeting in Campbeltown to give further discussion to the progression of these marketing initiatives That a list of local events in Kintyre, Islay and Arran would be compiled. That the evaluation questionnaire would be disseminated via the Explore Campbeltown network to establish views from local people. That Cllr Semple would compose a short Press Release for dissemination to both the Courier and Explore Campbeltown. Explore Campbeltown would again disseminate this Press Release via their network.
4.	Review of Year 1 and Preparation for Year 2 - CalMac PDF 63 KB View the background to item 4. Minutes: The group gave consideration to an update provided by Maggie Maguire, UK Tourism Development Manager which provided a short overview of the current timetable, fares and the marketing strategy being undertaken by CalMac. Decision The group noted the update. (Reference: Update by Maggie Maguire, UK Tourism Development Manager).
5.	Business Contacts for Evaluation Survey View the background to item 5. Minutes: The group gave consideration to the most effective way of engaging with the local business contacts. Decision The group agreed that Explore Campbeltown would post the Press Release on their Face Book page. In the process they would establish permissions from their contacts to enable further contact from, and on behalf of, the Ferry Sub-Group.
6.	Date of next meeting View the background to item 6. Friday, 1 August 2014 Minutes: The next meeting of the Ferry Sub-Group was agreed for:- Friday, 1 August 2014 – 1.00p.m.