Press release -
Town and country
A group of top European and North American buyers got a taste of the Scottish urban and rural business events experience in the lead-up to a major UK showcase event for the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) market.
The ten-strong group from France, Germany, Netherlands and the USA saw first-hand the variety of conference and event facilities and took in the visitor experiences available in Edinburgh and Perthshire to encourage them to bring their clients to Scotland.
The three-day familiarisation (fam) trip was organised by VisitScotland Business Events in partnership with Meetings Perthshire and Convention Edinburgh, in the run-up to MeetGB (held in London from 19-20 April).
MeetGB, hosted by VisitBritain in partnership with London & Partners, VisitEngland, Visit Wales, VisitScotland and Tourism Northern Ireland, brings 80 meetings and event suppliers from across the UK together with 120 global meetings, events and incentive planners to do business.
During the VisitScotland fam trip the European and North American MICE buyers took in the sights and activities of the Scottish capital which included, Tower Restaurant, National Museum of Scotland, The Old Town Chambers, The Hub, Edinburgh Castle and Principal Hotels.
The group then headed to Perthshire where they visited Scone Palace, Perth Racecourse, Crieff Hydro, Famous Grouse Experience and enjoyed a BlueSky mini highland games.
Neil Brownlee, Head of VisitScotland Business Events said: “Business events are hugely important to the Scottish economy and are an integral way of promoting this country as a place to live, work, visit and invest.
“MeetGB is an important platform for Scottish suppliers to engage directly with some of the world’s top meetings, events and incentive planners. We were delighted to work with Convention Edinburgh and Meetings Perthshire to give these buyers a taste of what the country has to offer, inspiring them to make Scotland their destination of choice for future events.”
Catriona Anderson, Marketing Consultant and coordinator of Meetings Perthshire, said: “Our task is to make Perthshire a destination of choice for business visitors and the MeetingsPerthshire.com website is the face of a busy, on-going campaign to raise awareness and educate organisers of meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions.
“When they discover this beautiful, historic heart of Scotland, and all that our world-class venues and facilities can offer, it will help us to deliver a truly legendary experience to countless more business visitors.”
Amanda Ferguson, Head of Business Tourism at Convention Edinburgh said: “Edinburgh is a fascinating city that is bursting with character at every turn, so we love to welcome meeting and event planners to the city whenever we can. It only takes five minutes of being in the city to appreciate its historic architecture, robust selection of attractions and the many friendly faces of locals, as well as recognising the city as a top destination for conferences and business-related events.
“Business tourism is a hugely competitive market and it’s important that we continue to maximise our unique offering. Edinburgh has something to suit everyone, from small intimate meeting rooms to impressive larger convention spaces. This remains a key area of growth for us, and we hope this visit has inspired Meet GB to visit the city again.”
ENDS
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
- business events
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 five overarching strategies: Marketing, Events, Quality and Sustainability, Inclusive Tourism, International Engagement.
- 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
- 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 tourism in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
2018 Year of Young People
- The Year of Young People 2018 will be the next of the Scottish Government’s series of themed years, following the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology 2017.
- The Year of Young People (YoYP 2018) will inspire Scotland through its young people aged 8 to 26, celebrating their achievements, valuing their contributions to communities and creating new opportunities for them to shine locally, nationally and globally
- Central to YoYP 2018 will be a celebratory events programme that puts young people at the heart of its development and delivery, creating new and valuable experiences for young Scots and the wider public, with links to the inaugural 2018 European Championships.
- Over 200 young people throughout Scotland are currently being recruited to become YoYP 2018 Ambassadors. Ambassadors will ensure that people and organisations in their communities know about what’s happening and will lead on projects and activities to create events and opportunities to celebrate young people.
- The Year of Young People will have six themes which were developed in co-production with young people themselves:
- oParticipation – looking at how young people can influence public services and decisions which affect their lives
- oEducation – creating a stronger role for young people in shaping their learning
- oHealth and Wellbeing – supporting young people to lead healthier, active lives and have opportunities to learn about and improve their mental health and resilience
- oEquality and Discrimination – broadcasting the value of young Scots, challenging negative perceptions of young people, and supporting young people to take leading roles in challenging discrimination in all its forms.
- oEnterprise and regeneration – celebrating young people’s role in innovation, entrepreneurship and the Scottish economy as well as making Scotland a greener and more pleasant place to live
- oCulture – celebrating young people’s talent and contribution to Scottish culture and arts.
- Further information on what’s happening and how people can get involved can be found on the new website www.yoyp2018.scot or @YOYP2018 on Twitter.
