SCOTTISH Borders Council’s (SBC) chief executive has outlined her ambition to make the Borders a “destination for tourism”.

Netta Meadows attended a virtual meeting of Galashiels Community Council on Wednesday, August 4.

And during the meeting, the chief executive told community councillors the council is working on “how we sell the Borders as that true destination place”.

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“I do think there’s so much more we can do in the Borders to make ourselves a destination for tourism as opposed to an area people may pass through,” she said.

“We need to give people enough of a reason to stay here for a week, not just to stay here overnight while they’re going somewhere else.”

In Galashiels, the Great Tapestry of Scotland centre is nearing completion, with the council predicting it to bring more than 50,000 visitors to the region each year.

“We’ve mentioned the tapestry a few times but there’s a good example of a tourist attraction, a really modern superb tourist attraction, that is a reason for people to come to the area and we have loads of those,” said Ms Meadows.

“[But] we don’t necessarily sell it enough. The council is only part of that solution, it does really need that team approach.”

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The region is bidding to become the 2025 UK City of Culture after the announcement that the competition will accept joint bids from areas and places across the country for the first time.

The chief executive said: “I appreciate that we’re not a city but the reality is it’s putting our head above the parapet and really getting our name out there so people go, ‘Scottish Borders, where’s that, what are those places?’

“[It’s] just getting into people’s psyches that we’re a place that wants to go somewhere, we’ve got a lot of ambition, a lot of drive and determination to really move things forward.”