Expo Boost to Scottish Tourism Economy

April 12, 2011 - PRLog -- EasyEditor Newswire

More than 250 of the country's leading businesses involved in creating  millions of pounds towards the tourism economy are to showcase the best Scotland has to offer at an expo in Aberdeen.
The granite city is expected to secure a boost of more than £1.7million from the two-day VisitScotland expo, held between April 13-14, as it plays host to a world-wide audience of tour operators and travel agents.
The international show at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre is considered Scotland’s flagship business-to-business event for the tourism industry as it features hundreds of firms from every corner of the country, including hotels, restaurants, visitor attractions and even an appearance by a representation of the Loch Ness Monster, Nessie, herself.
The expo is aimed at encouraging buyers from all over Europe, North America, Asia, South America, Australia and the rest of the UK to explore what Scotland has to offer from the finest food and drink  to a range of action-packed adventures involving mountain biking, loch cruising and even land yachting.
The expo, which has been a major event in the tourism calendar since 1980, has this year welcomed more than 120 buyers from North America – twice the usual number from one of Scotland’s most important markets.
At last year’s expo at the SECC in Glasgow, the number of buyers attending from the UK was nearly 350, while the number of international buyers increased by 18 per cent.
“Tourism is a major industry for the country and VistScotland should be applauded for their efforts in bringing in overseas agents and buyers with an exhibition which showcases the best we have to offer,” said Mairi Watson, of Peppercorn PR, which handles the promotion of Scotland's iconic seaplane company – one of the stars of the latest VisitScotland television campaign.
“Over the last few years we have been heavily involved in promoting various sectors ranging from golf and sailing to environmental tourism and visitor attractions, such as Machrihanish Dunes golf resort, The Links Association, Portavadie marina, The Green Tourism Business Scheme and Loch Lomond Seaplanes.
“All of these businesses and organisations are at the core of providing visitors to Scotland with a memorable experience while at the same time creating jobs for local people and generating income for the national economy.
“The expo is major opportunity to promote Scotland's tourism industry to a global audience”.
Tourism employs around 270,000 people in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses catering for almost 16 million tourists and generating some £11 billion in revenue every year.
“As Scotland’s only flagship business-to-business event for the travel trade that is entirely Scottish, expo offers the perfect opportunity for all Scotland-based exhibitors to showcase their products and services to potential buyers from around the globe,” said Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland,
ENDS