Date :
25/09/2014
This STA October Conference promises to spark a lot of debate. With confidence high following a really strong summer for many businesses up and down the country the focus of the day will be on what are the next opportunities for the Scottish tourism sector to sink their teeth into.
You can be sure the message will be a strong one: the need for a robust tourism sector to address the opportunities and to build on the positive momentum of the past quarter. Growing the contribution tourism makes to the economy can only be best achieved with a joined-up, collaborative approach to business, so sign up to be in Stirling on 8 October to make sure you are up to speed with and can take full advantage of the opportunities coming your way.
The conference is open to members and non-members and provides a great opportunity to network with colleagues and friends in the industry. To book your place visit the Scottish Tourism Alliance
website or call 01786 459235.
Key tourism industry speakers
The day kick starts with the STA AGM, where Stephen Leckie, Chair of the Scottish Tourism Alliance shares the results and highlights of the STA's performance and Marc Crothall, Chief Executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance will reveal the headlines of the STA's future business plan.
The October Conference will follow on after the AGM and will have a range of presentations made by Keynote speakers. Marc Crothall, STA will open the proceedings and introduce the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism who will be setting out his thoughts on the opportunities and 'What's Next for the Industry'. This will be the Tourism Ministers first address to a sizeable tourism audience following the result of the referendum.
Similarly, this will be the first opportunity to hear Francesca Tudini, Head of the EU's Tourism Policy Unit who will provide a 'European perspective on the likely tourism trends for the future' and will provide an enlightening perspective on what might be next for Scotland from the outside looking in. There is also a chance for delegates to have their say and pose questions to both keynote speakers.
Let's talk about the opportunities
2014 has been a big year for Scotland and as the core season draws to a close in October, the STA Conference starts to look at the future. To round off the first half of the day, with the Year of Food and Drink Scotland 2015 fast approaching, Stuart Turner, Events Director within EventScotland, VisitScotland's events directorate, will be serving up the opportunities surrounding Scotland’s Year of Food and Drink. After lunch Judy Rae will launch the Business Tourism for Scotland (BFTS) website and share more news of the projects being led by the BTFS working group.
Chris Newlands, Managing Director of talkholiday.com will tell his story on setting up his destination and travel social sharing website. Chris McCoy, Diversity and Equality Manager of VisitScotland will then offer some great insights into how to tap into the huge accessible tourism market, valued at around £325m per annum, by making some simple yet effective changes to make your business accessible to all, and without the need for huge investment. VisitScotland offers practical tools to help you engage with the accessible tourism market.
There will be ample time to meet and network with others between speeches. It's the perfect opportunity to make new connections and get up to speed with what's going on in your industry.
Register now
There's no doubt this will be a hugely important conference in the industry calendar and promises some lively debates at the lunch table. This event is not to be missed, but hurry, places are going fast. The event has already been moved to a larger venue to increase capacity.
Register now on the Scottish Tourism Alliance website.
Event Details
Date: 8 October 2014
Time: 11:00 and finishing at 15:15, lunch included
Venue: Stirling Management Centre.