Date :
26/01/2015
The 2014 Business Tourism Scotland Conference led the way to change by revealing exciting new ways for this valuable industry to connect with its customers and clients.
Business tourism’s value to Scotland
Business tourism is worth £782 million to the Scottish economy and the Government and other organisations are already working to develop its growth potential.
Last year’s Business Tourism Scotland Conference attracted 259 delegates, 6 event partners, 21 speakers and prompted an online response of over 533 tweets. Global experts shared their insights at the conference in Edinburgh to help the industry to evolve and engage with future opportunities.
Conference speakers included Banks Sadler’s David Campbell, British internet technologist, journalist, author and broadcaster Ben Hammersley and SPECTRA’s Paul Miller.
The conference is supported by VisitScotland’s Business Tourism Unit, Scottish Enterprise,Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, Dundee & Angus Convention Bureau, Marketing Edinburgh and VisitAberdeen.
£1.4m makes £143m for Scottish economy
The conference also provided the perfect backdrop for Tourism Minister, Fergus Ewing, to announce a £1 million Scottish Government investment to help attract major international conferences to Scotland.
The Conference Bid Fund will make the money available in 2015/16 through match funding to Scottish destinations bidding to host eligible conferences.
Seventy-two of the conferences that Scotland will hold over the next seven years have been secured with the help of the Fund, and it is estimated that its spending commitments of £1.4 million will bring in 84,000 global delegates and generate £143 million for the Scottish economy.
This gross return of £100 for every £1 spent makes the funding scheme one of the most successful in Scottish history and a key driver in delivering economic prosperity in the tourism sector.
European first for Scotland
A brand new initiative Think Scotland Think Conference (TSTC) has now been launched by Business Tourism for Scotland, the business tourism industry leadership group that focuses on delivering this strand of the Tourism Scotland 2020 strategy.
The initiative aims to grow the MICE market by building a relationship with ‘champions’ of Scotland’s key business sectors to generate enquiries for events within specific fields. A first for Europe, this national campaign aims to attract new events, which would not otherwise have taken place in Scotland.
TSTC is aimed both at champions of UK and international organisations, who can influence decision-makers on the location of business events.
Further reading
Business Tourism Scotland Conference 2014
Extra million to attract business tourism in Scotland
£1 million for business tourism
Think Scotland, Think Conference