£50,000 Airbnb Award to Make Wigtown Even Better and Brighter for Festival Goers
Airbnb Best of British Fund support will help establish Scotland’s National Book Town as a top cultural destination
An award of £50,000 will help reinvigorate Wigtown’s annual book festival – making it even brighter and more fun for its 20,000 annual visitors.
The much-loved annual autumn event, in Scotland’s National Book Town, is among the successful bidders for Airbnb’s £1 million Best of British Fund.
The fund is a £1 million initiative launched by Airbnb in partnership with Visit Britain to fuel local hospitality, boost tourism in communities across the UK, and celebrate the traditions and experiences that make British travel unique and unforgettable.
Wigtown’s funding will be used to make the 10-day event even better and brighter and second and to attract more visitors to Galloway and encourage them to stay for longer.
Recent years have proved difficult for events such as Wigtown Book Festival due to the Covid pandemic and the Cost-of-living crisis.
With visitor numbers now recovering it’s essential that they can invest in enhancing the visitor experience and infrastructure.
Bringing Literature Lovers Together
Isla Rosser-Owen, Wigtown Festival Company CEO, said: “We’re thrilled to be one of the winners of Airbnb’s Best of British Fund.
“For more than 25 years, Wigtown Book Festival has brought literature lovers together in Scotland’s National Book Town, welcoming around 20,000 visitors each year and contributing £4.3 million to the local economy.
“This funding will allow us to reinvigorate the festival experience for 2026 and beyond - helping us put Wigtown firmly on the map as one of the UK’s most distinctive cultural destinations.
“It will be invested in giving the town an even more festive feel for our autumn visitors and to attracting more people to the area and encouraging them to stay longer.
Engine of Economic Regeneration
“It’s especially welcome right now as arts and community events face such uncertain times – especially in economically-challenged rural areas like ours.
“Awards like this are vital in helping us continue in our role as an important engine of economic regeneration and promoter of the arts.”
Examples of the projects the award will be used for include:
- Dressing the town more brightly, with extra decorations and bunting, to add to the festival feel.
- Creating a poetry trail to celebrate the centenary of Alastair Reid, one of Scotland’s greatest poets, who came from the area.
- Developing suggested itineraries for day trips around the region highlighting its many attractions and literary connections.
- Improved festival infrastructure.
The Best of British Fund is about shining a spotlight on the people and places that make the country unique - and helping more travellers experience that authenticity for themselves
Celebrating Culture and Place
Luke Impett, Partnerships and External Affairs Senior Manager for Airbnb UK, said: “Congratulations to Wigtown Book Festival on being named a winner of Airbnb’s Best of British Fund.
“As Scotland’s National Book Town, Wigtown has built something truly special - bringing together readers, writers and the local community in a way that celebrates both culture and place.
“It’s exactly the kind of passionate, community-led initiative the Best of British fund was created to support, helping preserve local traditions while inspiring more people to discover and experience incredible destinations across the UK.”
Wigtown Festival Company runs one of the world’s most unusual Airbnbs – The Open Book, which gives visitors the chance to stay in and run their own bookshop.
This year’s festival runs from 25 September to 4 October.