Press release -

Young People celebrated at tourism conference

LOCAL tourism businesses in Dumfries & Galloway are being invited to attend VisitScotland’s annual conference in the region to learn more about maximising the opportunities available to them in the 2018 Year of Young People.

The Dumfries & Galloway Annual Tourism Conference, in partnership with VisitScotland and Dumfries & Galloway Council, is taking place at Easterbrook Hall, Dumfries, on Tuesday 3 October. All areas of the tourism and hospitality sectors are invited to attend the event which will focus on how businesses can benefit from and invest in the future of our young people within the tourism industry.

The first ever Year of Young People 2018 will celebrate young people’s achievements and contributions to society.

The event, which is taking place as part of this year’s Business Week, will hear from David Cochrane of the Hospitality Industry Trust Scotland, which offers support for people in the hospitality industry through scholarships and bursaries. He will give an insight into their talent scholarship programme and how they ‘inspire individuals in the industry to be the best they can be.’

Other speakers include Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust Development Director, Cathy Agnew, who will update on the £7million project to create a National Centre for Children’s Literature and Storytelling on the site that provided the inspiration for Neverland.

Richard Herman from Galloway Activity Centre will then discuss how they deliver inspiring experiences for young people as well as offer opportunities within the adventure sports industry for young people.

VisitScotland Regional Partnerships Director Manuela Calchini, who will open the conference, said: “This is the first time the Dumfries & Galloway Tourism Conference is being held during Business Week. It offers a fantastic opportunity to bring industry together 18 months on from the last one to celebrate partnership working and how we can continue to work together to grow the visitor economy.

“I would encourage local businesses to book their place as soon as possible and to bring their own rising stars along to the event to learn more about the Year of Young People and how they are making such an impact on the tourism industry in Dumfries & Galloway.

“2018, the Year of Young People, is just around the corner and we want to celebrate their achievements and create new opportunities for them to shine locally, nationally and globally. Tourism is at the heart of economic success in Dumfries & Galloway, causing a ripple effect which touches every industry and community, creating employment and economic growth.”

Councillor Archie Dryburgh, Chair of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Economy, Environment and Infrastructure Committee said: “Tourism is one of our Council’s top priorities and our region’s most important economic sector: it supports thousands of jobs locally, generates a huge amount of money for our region and sustains communities. Dumfries and Galloway has great potential to go further, with opportunities to welcome even greater numbers of visitors that we do currently and this conference is a good starting point for locals and businesses to find out the best ways to do this.”

The conference will also include a Question & Answer session and networking opportunities.

Dumfries & Galloway Council Business Week is taking place from Monday 2 October to Friday 8 October. The annual industry conference is the most anticipated event in the Dumfries & Galloway tourism calendar and always generates a great level of interest from tourism and hospitality businesses the length and breadth of the region.

Attendees will represent all areas of the tourism and hospitality sectors, ranging from accommodation providers and tour operators, to food and drink businesses, visitor attractions and events’ organisers.

For more information and to book a place at the conference, visit:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dumfries-galloway-tourism-conference-2017-yoyp2018-tickets-36830137934?utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=order_confirmation_email&utm_term=eventname&ref=eemailordconf

Topics

  • Tourism

Categories

  • year of young people
  • dumfries & galloway
  • 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:
    1. 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
    2. 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
    3. 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
    4. Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
    5. 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
    6. Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
    7. Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
  • To ensure everyone can safely enjoy Scotland’s amazing countryside and landscapes, VisitScotland encourages all visitors to fully respect their surroundings by behaving in a responsible and appropriate way.
  • 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)
    • 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

Contacts

Amelia Whittaker

Press contact Senior Corporate Press Officer - Regional Contact for media enquiries on: South Region; Edinburgh and Lothians; Food and Drink; Scottish Thistle Awards 01750 723806