Date :
28/04/2014
The Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) practices what it preaches when it comes to delivering a quality, memorable experience.
Billed as the ‘must attend’ event for the Scottish tourism industry, in just two years it’s grown from a 5-hour conference attended by 140 delegates to a 2½-day programme enjoyed by over 500.
Runner up at last year’s Scottish Events Awards, this year the STA was determined to go one better and the feedback so far has been “phenomenal” says Marc Crothall, Chief Executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance.
A Parliamentary Reception, two-day Signature Programme and a Dinner with a Difference kicked off a series of events that spun out across Scotland over the following three weeks.
Key themes
An overarching theme of this year’s programme was to look beyond the high profile events taking place in 2014 and to make sure Scottish tourism continues to build for the future.
Marc Crothall, STA CEO, kicked off day one by talking about the Leadership Report and the importance of making sure politicians across the board are putting tourism right at the top of the agenda.
There followed two days of presentations that touched on topics ranging from understanding generational behaviour and advice about accessing finance, to insights into the digital tourist and the impact on the tourism industry of the referendum vote in September.
Dinner with a Difference
Keen to get away from the usual formal sit-down dinner, the STA organised a Dinner with a Difference to round off day one.
Held at The Caves in Edinburgh, there were market stalls offering Scottish food and drink and an informal networking atmosphere that generated lots of positive feedback. There are already plans for next year’s Dinner with a Difference, which promises some Scottish molecular gastronomy by focusing on food and science!
On the road
A key objective for the STA is to make the programme affordable and also relevant to every size of business across the tourism sector.
After the signature programme was wrapped up in Edinburgh, the STA held a series of meetings in Inverness, Aberdeen, Perth, Glasgow, Dundee, Loch Lomond and East Lothian.
Bigger and better next year
Next year’s programme will be even more comprehensive and will include ScotHot, the trade show for Scottish hospitality as well as the annual Scottish food and drink conference. The closing dinner will incorporate the Scottish Thistle Awards.
Wish you’d been there?
If you weren’t able to go to the conference, you will shortly be able to find out what the speakers and delegates got from the event by watching these short videos.
Find out more about the Scottish Tourism Alliance at www.scottishtourismalliance.co.uk