Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland have launched a new initiative to give 5% of accommodation back to its incredible trail network.
Anyone booking using the right link, regardless of where their stay is will help fund the sustainable maintenance of the Scotland’s World-class trails.
Read the full press release below.
Scotland is already well known across the globe for its incredible array of mountain biking opportunities. Hosting premier events, including the Fort William world cup, coming into its 20th year this year, and the Tweed Valley EWS has helped cement its place as one of the premier options for visitors.
The Ride Guide will aim to provide visitors with information on established destinations, but also build up other destinations that have world class trails and experiences for mountain bikers to enjoy over longer stays. Utilising community knowledge, data from Trail Forks and outlining a range of experiences on offer, the Ride Guide showcases the very best of what this diverse country has to offer.
The Ride Guide builds on the Scottish strategy to build sustainable tourism into mountain biking, by encouraging visitors to stay longer and experience the breadth of riding and activities on offer in each area.
As part of the new destination Ride Guides, we have built in a new initiative, 5% for the trails.
5% for the trails.
After searching for a mechanism to help fund local trail associations, DMBinS reached out to Expedia, a travel booking website. “We were impressed by their enthusiasm around how they could help promote sustainable mountain biking tourism in Scotland” says Graeme Mclean, the head of DMBinS, the partnership will enable us to understand market trends and developments which help us provide rationale for further investment into trails “ .
By booking accommodation through the affiliate link, local trail associations will receive 5% of the booking value “ When a booking is made through the link it will generate 6% of the total booking amount back to the Scottish Trail Fund. Through the Scottish Trail Fund we will then be allocating 5% of the booking back to the local trails association and we will keep 1% to help us administrate the process” adds Graeme.
This is just one step on the journey that DMBinS is taking to help secure a sustainable future for mountain biking in Scotland, and working with local trail groups who know and understand their community is key to the long term vision.
FAQ:
- What happens if I book in an area without a trails association? The money will go to the Scottish Trail Fund and will then be distributed to groups who apply for funding and will help more groups set up or develop new/maintain trails across Scotland.
- Does it have to be used in Scotland? No, if bookings are made on any hotel booking globally the money will be paid back into the Scottish Trail Fund.
- Does it make a booking more expensive? No, you will get the same rates for hotels as you would do if you accessed the expedia website without using the links. Only by clicking the links will you be able to pay back into our trail network without any cost to you as a rider.
- Does it work for all accommodation choices? No, at the moment it will only work for hotel bookings through the expedia site. We realise that this doesn’t capture parts of the mountain biking market who will camp or book self-catered accommodation. However, we felt we had to start somewhere and it had to be a pretty easy system to click on an individual link. We will analyse its performance over its first year and would welcome feedback into whether we need to expand the offer.
- Riders can also donate monthly or annually to the Scottish Trail Fund to help us support local groups and trails associations – building new trails and helping to improve our existing trail network.
