Melrose Abbey
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Borders Railway
In 2015 the Queen opened the Borders Railway, which connected Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders region by train for
the first time since 1969. The 45-minute ride makes attractions
such as Rosslyn Chapel, Abbotsford House, Melrose Abbey and
the National Mining Museum more easily reachable. “Each year
in August and September, there will be steam train trips running
on t he weekend,” in addition to conventional trains year-round,
says Anderson. “New to this service, which is great to know for
tour operators, is a bus that runs from the train stations to some
of the best tourist attractions in the Scottish Borders area.”
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New Hotels
Edinburgh’s popular festivals can lead to difficulties
with finding lodging during peak travel seasons. “We are
delighted to say that there have been new hotel developments
in 2016, and there are more scheduled for the coming years,”
says Anderson. Here’s a look at soon-to-open properties:
• Aparthotel Adagio Edinburgh New Waverley (2017)
• Hampton by Hilton Edinburgh City Centre (2017)
• SACO Aparthotel Edinburgh George Street & Queen
Street (2017)
• Carlton Edinburgh (2018)
• Leonardo Hotel Edinburgh (2018)
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not being invited they went ahead and staged their shows
on the ‘fringe of the festival’ anyway.” The nearly month-long
celebration is the largest of its kind in the world, and the
2016 event included more than 50,000 performances of nearly
3,300 shows. Tickets for individual performances go on sale in
early February, and shows will be added well into the spring.
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A Year of Young People (2018)
“A program of cultural and educational events and
activities, co-designed with young people themselves, will be
held across the country in 2018 and will celebrate Scotland as
a great place to grow up and mark young people’s important
contribution to Scottish Society,” says Anderson. The year’s
activities will highlight enterprise, regeneration, education and
equality. “For the U.S. market, we are focusing on product for
educational and performance groups,” says Anderson, adding
that many universities offer accommodations to these groups.
Edinburgh First (edinburghfirst.co.uk/for-accommodation) is
a helpful organization for finding lodging.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2017
The renowned Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Aug. 4–28)
celebrates performance in all forms and draws internationally recognized acts and emerging talent. “The Fringe started
when eight theater groups turned up and performed at the
Edinburgh International Festival,” says Anderson. “Despite
Fire breathing at
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
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