Highland athlete Harrison Bailey III and Scotland’s Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism Jim Mather visited New York to share ways to stretch the dollar for travel during Scotland’s Homecoming year. Their “Top Ten Ways to Stretch Your Dollar During Homecoming Scotland 2009”  includes a week-long “Scotland Tartan B&B” package starting at $999 air-inclusive ;  get 25 to 30 percent more for your dollar with sterling at a 10-year low; based on the average spent in 2008, Americans will save more than $300 visiting Scotland in 2009; the U.K. government has reduced retail tax (VAT) on goods and services by 2.5 percent; the year of Homecoming Scotland 2009 is serving up more than 100 free cultural events and festivals Scotland-wide; more than 300 free traditional music sessions will take place in bars and pubs Scotland-wide from April through September; in September, visitors will have free access to more than 800 historic buildings, some never opened before, during the Homecoming year’s Doors Open Days; in Edinburgh, visitors have free entry to more than 30 top attractions, free return airport and city center bus transport, and a free comprehensive guidebook; for golfers St. Andrews Links Trust has frozen green fees for 2009 (high season green fee’s for the Old Course are now $195 per person, down from $260 in 2008); and a pint from pub chain JD Wetherspoon’s (with 50 pubs in Scotland) is selling for 99 pence ($1.40) for a pint of real ale. For more information, call Cruise Planners at 281.957.5640 or 877.530.5699