The 1990s Bonnybridge (also Falkirk) Triangle of UFO sightings was widely publicised in the contemporary press and media. As well as interest in the varied enigmatic phenomena, there was much press coverage of the local community’s efforts to benefit from the ‘Triangle’. There many speculative projects, such as a proposed mushroom-shaped glass UFO visitor centre, that delighted the media. But there were also more tangible and mundane pay-offs. One such seems to have been the UFO Weekend Break at the Comfort Inn, Falkirk. A small ad from the Travel pages of The Scotsman, Saturday 18 September 1990, headed ‘Wish UFO Were Here’ announces a weekend break in 24-26 September for ‘only £180’ (per person).
The Comfort Inn held several of these weekend breaks, which seem to have included lectures by local experts, guided visits to a local UFO spotting site, and musical entertainment. The general manager testified elsewhere to the success of the weekends, which apparently prompted a flood of media inquiries from the UK and abroad.
Local efforts to position Bonnybridge as Scotland’s Roswell were not ultimately successful in the long-term. There’s no legacy to match Roswell’s UFO Festival, for instance. But the local area clearly did receive some economic benefits, though they may be almost impossible to quantify.