BRIEFING
Chris Foy, Chief Executive of VisitAberdeenshire
NATIONAL EVENTS CONFERENCE WILL TAKE PLACE DURING SOLHEIM CUP
The biennial National Events Conference, organised by EventScotland, will take place during the Solheim Cup in September. The one-day conference, which
is the flagship industry conference for the events and festivals sector in Scotland, will take place on Monday 9 September at Glenea- gles Hotel. This will be Scotland’s 5th
biennial National Events Confer- ence. Building on the success of previous years the 2019 confer- ence will consider innovation and change, plus future opportunities and challenges across the sector. It will provide delegates with a first-class opportunity to hear from recognised industry experts, share experiences and network with colleagues. Also hosted at the Gleneagles
FRESH BLOW TO BUSINESS TOURISM IN SCOTLAND WITH 50% FUNDING CUT TO VISITABERDEENSHIRE
VisitAberdeenshire – the destina- tion marketing organisation (DMO) for the North East – has suffered a hammer blow to its operations after councillors voted to halve its funding. Te tourism and events
promotions agency is facing a £260,000 financial black hole after local councillors approved a 50 per cent reduction in its fund- ing package. Te news comes just months
before the new £333m replace- ment to the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC), the TECA (Te Events Centre Aberdeen) is due to open and was described this week by Visit- Aberdeenshire Chief Executive Chris Foy as ‘disappointing’. It is a fresh blow to the events industry in Scotland after Mar-
6 | EVENTSBASE | SPRING 2019
keting Edinburgh saw its budget slashed by £300,000 as council- lors in the capital also delivered a series of swingeing cuts to public services. Foy said: “We are clearly
disappointed that a 50% cut to VisitAberdeenshire’s core budget allocation from the City Council has been approved. As we sig- nalled last week, this reduction in funding will significantly limit VisitAberdeenshire’s capacity to promote Aberdeen to high spending visitors in the year ahead, just as the city is on the cusp of becoming a destination of choice. Te longer term impact will be a question mark over the feasibility of achieving the £1bil- lion annual visitor spend target for the North-east by 2023. “However, in the coming
weeks we will work with the City Council – and all of our funders – to develop a business plan that accommodates the city’s tourism priorities, while not compromis- ing the ambition and potential for the wider region.”
Te cuts come from both Ab-
erdeen City Council and also Op- portunity North East (ONE) – the economic development agency for the region – which match funds the tourism organisation. “ONE’s immediate priorities
are to work with partners to maximise investment for future tourism growth and ensure that VisitAberdeenshire builds a sustainable model for the future,” said a ONE spokesperson.
See page 27 for more ➜
Hotel that week will be The 2019 Solheim Cup - the pinnacle of women’s golf. The Solheim Cup will see the best golfers from Europe and the USA go head-to-head over four days of competition, attracting tens of thousands of spectators and reaching a global broadcast audi- ence in the millions. Conference delegates will have the unique op- portunity to see behind the scenes of one of the biggest sporting events in Scotland this year.
For information and registration visit www.
nationaleventsconference.scot
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