Press release -
Skye's the limit for Scotland's business potential
An adventure conference on Skye that attracted delegates from as far afield as South Africa, India, the USA and Canada has been hailed a fantastic success.
Part-financed by VisitScotland’s Conference Bid Fund and held by West Highland College UHI’s Centre for Recreation and Tourism Research, around 70 adventure experts from around the world attended the three-day event - Adventure Conference.
At the beginning of the conference, which was also supported by The Highland Council and SportScotland, delegates were treated to a range of outdoor experiences, including climbing the ‘In Pinn’ on the Cuillin Ridge, gathering wild food on the seashore and sea kayaking in the Sound of Sleat.
They later enjoyed a series of workshops as well as keynote speeches from the likes of Professor Alan Ewert from Indiana University, Christopher Doyle (based in Sweden), Executive Director, Europe, for the Adventure Travel Trade Association, and Paul Easto, the Director of Wilderness Scotland.
Neil Brownlee, Head of VisitScotland’s Business Tourism Unit, said:
“The VisitScotland Bid Fund is available to conferences of all sizes. When people think of holding conferences in Scotland, their first thoughts might be of an inner-city venue, but hugely successful events such as the Adventure Conference on Skye show that our country has so much more to offer. It boasts unique beauty allied to fantastic facilities. We were delighted to be able to assist with the Adventure Conference on Skye and are thrilled at its success.”
Dr Peter Varley, Director of the Centre for Recreation and Tourism Research and Chair of the conference, said:
“We were delighted that so many leading academics and practitioners from around the world were able to attend. All of our speakers and delegates were charmed and excited by the beauty of this wild, remote part of Scotland and by the warmth of the welcome they have received in the area. This location, with views over the sea to the rough bounds of Knoydart, Britain’s last great wilderness, would be hard to beat anywhere in the world. We have received excellent feedback from those attending the conference and are confident that the relationships formed and the contacts made between delegates will bear some fruitful outcomes over the coming months and years. We would like to thank VisitScotland for its support.”
The VisitScotland Bid Fund, which was launched last year, will see £2 million given to conferences over three years, with the aim of making Scotland more competitive within the international conference market.
ENDS
For further information contact:
Tom Maxwell
Corporate Press Officer
Tel: 0131 472 2409
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors:
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- 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:
- To market Scotland to all parts of the world to attract visitors
- To provide information – and inspiration – to visitors and potential visitors so they get the best out of a visit to Scotland
- 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 more than 800 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/
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