VisitScotland conference pot said to have generated £100m
A FUND set up to grow Scotland’s conference business is said to have generated over £100 million of revenue in the past two years.
The VisitScotland Conference Bid Fund was formed in 2012 and is said to have helped to secure 46 international conferences up to 2021.
Delegate spend from the events is expected to top £106m, from the bid fund’s initial investment of £936,000, which has been match-funded by Scottish local authorities.
VisitScotland’s Neil Brownlee said business tourism is a “key sector” for the country. “It supports conference centres and hotels throughout the country, and also hundreds of other operators not normally associated with tourism,” he said.
“The Conference Bid Fund has been instrumental in bringing these conferences to Scotland, and we are delighted by its success. It also highlights the long-term potential and sustainable nature of business tourism and business events.”
Tourism minister Fergus Ewing said: ““As these latest VisitScotland figures illustrate, business tourism is vital because, as a result of attracting business events, it helps grow the Scottish economy beyond tourism.”
Glasgow is said to have accounted for 25 of the successful bids, with others won by Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, St Andrews, Stornoway and Shetland.
