Press release -
App-ointment with Scotland
Buyers attending Northern England’s biggest business tourism industry trade show will be ‘virtually’ transported 134 miles north of the border by VisitScotland, in a bid to inspire more business visitors to Scotland.
The national tourism organisation’s Business Events team will give attendees at the Conference and Hospitality Show in Leeds today (4 April) the chance to experience some of Scotland’s most exciting destinations and landscapes via its immersive virtually reality app, ScotlandVR.
VisitScotland Business Events will lead a Scottish contingent of representatives from prestigious hotels and venues across Edinburgh, Stirling, Glasgow, Ayrshire and Perthshire.
The app, which was released by VisitScotland earlier this year, features 360˚ imagery and footage and visitors to the Scotland stand will be able to view it in Stereoscopic 3D through the use of a Google Cardboard virtual reality headset.
As part of the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology, some of the Scottish partners attending have links to Scotland’s rich past including Edinburgh and Stirling Castles, National Museums of Scotland and Royal College of Surgeons.
The Conference and Hospitality Show, now in its eighth year, is expected to be attended by more than 800 buyers, including top event organisers from across the UK.
Theresa Ring, Market Manager – The Midlands & North England at VisitScotland, said: “Scotland’s history and heritage is what defines the country for many visitors. It’s an integral and iconic part of our national ‘brand’ as well as a major contributor to our economy. Scotland’s heritage is a major driver for event planners looking for a uniquely authentic setting, which is also home to world-class contemporary facilities for meetings and incentives.
“The Conference and Hospitality Show is an important platform to promote Scotland to key UK buyers and the North of England is a growing market for us, accounting for nearly 40% of total UK enquiries in 2016/17.”
This will be the first year the University of Strathclyde is attending the Conference and Hospitality Show.
Gordon Hodge, Head of Conferencing and Events at the University of Strathclyde, said: “We’re delighted to be attending the Conference & Hospitality Show with VisitScotland Business Events for the first time, to showcase the dedicated conferencing facilities in our flagship Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC).
“Since opening in March 2015, TIC has challenged the market’s perception of academic venues, and quickly established itself as one of Scotland’s premier conference centres. TIC’s versatile auditoria, conference rooms and foyer spaces can accommodate conferences of up to 450 delegates, offering in-house catering and the very latest in projection, display and audio technology.”
The Scottish businesses attending are:
- Edinburgh & Stirling Castle
- Susan Reid Collection
- Royal College of Surgeons
- The Gleneagles Hotel
- Trump Turnberry, a Luxury Collection Resort
- National Museums Scotland
- Doubletree by Hilton Glasgow Central
- University of Strathclyde
For more on The Conference and Hospitality Show 2017 go to http://www.chs17.co.uk/
- ENDS -
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- business events
- corporate communications
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP.
- The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Programme. For further information visit www.gov.scot or follow @scotgovESIF
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business events in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
- 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology
- 2017 is the year to delve into the past and discover Scotland’s fascinating stories through a wide-ranging variety of new and existing activity to drive the nation’s tourism and events sector, boosting tourism across Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology begins on 1 January 2017 and will end on 31 December 2017. It will build on the momentum generated by previous themed years in Scotland including the 2015 Year of Food and Drink, Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Built Environment Forum Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is supported by £570,000 of Scottish Government funding.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
- For more information visit visitscotland.com/HHA2017 or join the conversation at #HHA2017
