BUSINESS TOURISM INCENTIVE TRAVEL
Dormant incentive travel society given fresh lease of life
Te Scottish chapter of SITE is back up and running after a period of neglect
BY KEVIN O’SULLIVAN T
he Scottish chapter of SITE (Society for Incen- tive Travel Excellence) is once again blazing a trail for the inbound business
tourism sector after years of stagna- tion and dwindling members. James Aitken, owner and founder
of Cashel Travel, has taken up the mantle to drive local activity for the international body, and is pleased to report that since December they have taken chapter membership numbers from a lowly six back up to around 30. “Te membership had fallen off
a cliff following the resignation of the [past] president and one of the other members,” says Aitken, who has taken on the presidency of the reinvigorated Scottish chapter. “Tere wasn’t any succession plan- ning so it really just drifted for two years.” Tere had been discussions about
closing the chapter and amalgamat- ing with the UK-level body, but Ait- ken, after attending a SITE conference in India, was inspired to breathe fresh life into the organisation. He said: “Some of the biggest
players in the industry were at this conference in India and it was just me and Caroline Dow, who had been chair of the whole of SITE at one point, who were there as Scot- tish representatives. When I saw how well represented Ireland was,
The Scottish chapter of SITE, who are aiming to reach 50 members by the end of the year
it was a bit of a turning point, and I wasn’t prepared to let the Scottish chapter go.”
AND THE membership drive ap- pears to be gaining traction with destination management companies and venues alike. Hoteliers includ- ing Trump Turnberry, Gleneagles, Te Sheraton, Balmoral, Waldorf, Cameron House and Hopetoun House have all joined the reinvigo- rated chapter. Destination manage- ment companies (DMCs) including
Experience Scotland, Spectra, Cashel Travel and K&N Travel As- sociates have also joined. “I thought it would be an uphill
struggle,” says Aitken. “But people have been very keen to sign up to it, which is great. It’s very much a showcase for Scotland and once a company decides to bring incen- tives to the country this is a mecha- nism which can potentially allow everyone to work together to get the big events to come here. SITE is one of the few organisations in incentive travel that is truly global.” He added: “And I think with a
bit of luck and a decent push, we will easily get to at least 50 mem- bers by the end of the year, which will be fantastic for all of us in the industry.”
For information on joining SITE and a full list of benefits visit https://
brojure.com/site-scotland/site- chapter/
28 | EVENTSBASE | SUMMER 2016
“IT WAS A BIT OF A TURNING POINT, AND I WASN’T PREPARED TO LET THE SCOTTISH CHAPTER GO”
James Aitken, Founder, Cashel Travel and new President, SITE (Scottish chapter)
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