Press release -
Scotland shows business class
Although no longer a nation of hunters, gatherers are playing a vital role in the economy, with the meetings, incentives, conference and events (MICE) industry currently booming in Scotland and with the potential to grow significantly over the next decade.
Business tourism, which includes high-yield meetings and conferences, is worth nearly
£2 billion* to the economy and, on Tuesday 2 December, hundreds of members of the industry will gather in Edinburgh to learn how to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the country’s heightened profile during 2014.
Organised by VisitScotland and Scottish Enterprise and supported by Dundee and Angus Convention Bureau, Marketing Edinburgh, Glasgow City Marketing Bureau (People Make Glasgow) and Visit Aberdeen, the 2014 Business Tourism Scotland conference will take place in the Assembly Rooms next month.
Among the high-profile speakers are the author, television personality and futurist Ben Hammersley and David Campbell, founding director and Chairman of Banks Sadler.
The conference will also see the leaders of Scotland’s three busiest airports take part in a panel discussion entitled “Going that extra mile – making the most of the opportunities”.
Between January and June, there were 238,000 international business trips made to Scotland – a 41 per cent increase on the previous year.
Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport, Amanda McMillan, Managing Director of Glasgow Airport, and Aberdeen Airport Managing Director Carol Benzie will take part in the conference, which will be addressed by Fergus Ewing, Scotland’s Tourism Minister and Mike Cantlay, Chairman of VisitScotland.
Scotland has been thrust into the international limelight in 2014, having hosted the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, The Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and nearly 1,000 events up and down the country as part of Homecoming. The country also garnered enormous worldwide media coverage as a result of the Independence Referendum.
Neil Brownlee, Head of Business Tourism at VisitScotland, said: “This has been an extraordinary year for Scotland, with our stunning range of venues, accommodation and facilities showcased to a massive global audience. In the afterglow of 2014, Scotland is now recognised as a place to host world-class events and this year’s Business Tourism Scotland conference will show how the industry can use 2014 as a springboard for continued success.”
Danny Cusick, Tourism director at Scottish Enterprise, said: “We know that business tourists stay longer, typically spend 50 per cent more than leisure tourists and tend to travel around Scotland rather than stay in one location. All of which is great news for Scotland’s tourism companies as they can use this to drive their business growth by developing new tourism products aimed at this lucrative market.
“This year we’ve welcomed business tourists to a host of activity designed to take advantage of Scotland’s added exposure globally, including our own Commonwealth Games Business Conference, Scotland House and Ryder Cup business programmes. That’s why this year’s conference is designed to help tourism companies understand how they can use business tourism as a key opportunity for growth.”
For more information on the conference, go to: http://businesstourismscotland.co.uk/
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- business events
- corporate communications
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
About Business Tourism
• *According to research commissioned by the Meeting Professionals International Foundation in 2013, Business Tourism is worth £1.9 billion to the Scottish economy
• The Business Tourism Industry focuses on Scotland as a destination for conferences, conventions, and incentive programmes.
• Currently, business tourism represents 20% of all tourism expenditure in Scotland. Business visitors spend almost twice that of leisure visitors, making it a highly lucrative sector, and it is also less seasonal than leisure tourism.
• In addition, attracting a major conference reinforces Scotland’s credentials in key industries and can make us a more attractive destination for inward investors, meaning that the benefits of business tourism extend well beyond delegate spend.
• For information about business tourism in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
About VisitScotland
• 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 has three key roles:
1. To market Scotland to all parts of the world to attract visitors
2. To provide information – and inspiration – to visitors and potential visitors so they get the best out of a visit to Scotland
3. To provide quality assurance to visitors and quality advice to the industry and partners to help the industry meet and strive to exceed customer expectations
• 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.
• 2014 is the year Scotland welcomes the world, when it hosts the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and nearly 1000 Homecoming events throughout the country.
• For more information on Homecoming Scotland 2014, go to www.visitscotland.com
• The VisitScotland Information Centre network is a unique face-to-face channel engaging with around five million visitors and locals each year. Everyone who uses a VisitScotland Information Centre goes on to spend an additional £5.35, generating over £24 million for Scotland’s economy.
• According to a recent Deloitte study, tourism employs 270,000 people in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the industry contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
• 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
About Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise is Scotland's main economic development agency and aims to deliver a significant, lasting effect on the Scottish economy. Our role is to help identify and exploit the best opportunities for economic growth. We support ambitious Scottish companies to compete within the global marketplace and help build Scotland’s globally competitive sectors. We also work with a range of partners in the public and private sectors to attract new investment to Scotland and to help create a world-class business environment.
Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/scotent
Follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/scottishenterprise
