ONLINE influencers are being recruited to help boost young traveller numbers to Edinburgh.

The first campaign of its kind in the Scottish capital hopes to reach 3.5 million people across Europe as it links up two people at a time, one from Edinburgh and one from another city such as Barcelona or Amsterdam, who share images on social media year-round.

The first are Edinburgh-based Davide Verri and Nicanor Garcia from Barcelona, with a collective Instagram following of almost 740,000 and who share an interest in culturally significant architecture.

The Herald:

Pete Duncan, chair of Youth Travel Edinburgh, said: “This campaign is a fantastic collaboration by Edinburgh’s tourism industry and a great opportunity for the city to position itself as the leading UK youth travel destination that can be enjoyed on a year-round basis."

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The #UncoverEdinburgh campaign, led by Youth Travel Edinburgh and supported by the Edinburgh Tourism Action Group and Marketing Edinburgh, looks to profile Scotland’s capital as a top youth tourism destination and has received a £40,000 VisitScotland Growth Fund award from the national tourism organisation.

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It aims to encourage visitors aged 18-26 from key European markets to come to Edinburgh on a year-round basis by pairing an Edinburgh influencer with an influencer sharing a similar special interest.

Youth travel is the fastest growing segment of global tourism and Edinburgh is second only to London for young visitors to the UK - almost two million of the city’s visitors come into the millennial age bracket.