Festival set to bring cash windfall to city

ORGANISERS of a festival celebrating the life and times of Robert the Bruce expect this year's event to herald a cash windfall for the host city.

The Bruce Festival, to be held in Dunfermline on the last weekend in August, will draw an estimated 18,000 visitors to the city.

With festival goers spending an average of 22 per head, organisers claim the event will generate more than 400,000 for local businesses.

Graham Henderson, owner of Pink String and Sealing Wax in the city's Bridge Street, and a director of Dunfermline Delivers, said: "There's no doubt that successful events bring people into the town and that has to be a good thing for local businesses.

"But it's still important that shops, cafes and restaurants make the effort to bring visitors through the door and offer them the service and value that will encourage them to return again and again."

ESPC is one of the Bruce Festival's 2011 sponsors and Marketing Manager, Neil Harrison, believes that local communities also benefit from high profile activities like the Bruce Festival.

He said: "When communities can share in successful events in their local area it creates a sense of confidence and pride.

"This has a ripple effect to local businesses and can be a significant factor in boosting the local economy."