FOREWORD
Putting our best foot forward
and events boards to project themselves on the world stage. Tey are a focal point for commercial activity that ranges from preparing bid presentations, producing attactive marketing content to providing useful information to inbound visitors. Scotland, which has the two busiest meetings centres outside London, is a player in this field: it has a solid international reputation for putting its best foot forward, often with limited resources, and is looked upon as a best practice leader. Tat reputation unfortunately now hangs in the
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balance. Due to ongoing pressures on the public purse, Marketing Edinburgh and VisitAberdeenshire are facing life-threatening reductions to their budgets; local councillors have voted through measures which mean the agencies will not be able to operate at the same level. Both organisations face having to prepare business cases to guarantee their future survival. Whilst the cuts are a reminder of the ongoing effects of austerity, the funding gap provides an opportunity for the private sector to step in and fill the void. Hotels, venues, and the vast,
ities around the world are engaged in a fierce battle to attract the biggest and best events. Destination marketing is a global industry that typically relies on government support, enabling tourism
often disconnected events industry supply chain, undoubtedly reap the rewards from hosting high- profile and remunerative conventions in their locales – not to mention the ripple effects through to key sectors of the knowledge economy. Tey must now put their heads together and come up with a plan to ensure Edinburgh and Aberdeenshire do not lose ground in a global market and that they continue to have their voices heard. Plenty of industry voices were quick to offer
support for the plight of the under-threat tourism and events agencies. Tose warm words must now be backed by the rolling up of sleeves, and some hard cash. Because if anything is clear from the fallout of this crisis, if that is not too strong a word, it was that the leadership from the national industry body was completely lacking. Business Tourism for Scotland – the representative
body uniting professionals from the conventions and conferences industry in this country - was nowhere to be seen. Despite repeated attempts, we were unable to raise a single comment in support of the convention bureaux under threat, which was surprising and confusing, leading to the conclusion that if the organisation does not do what it says on the tin, perhaps it’s time for a new lick of paint. Kevin O’Sullivan, Editor
EVENTSBASE | SPRING 2019 | 5
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