VisitAberdeenshire news - August 2025

The first Christmas menus are starting to drop into inboxes, a perennial sign that our sector never rests and is always planning ahead. From VisitAberdeenshire’s perspective plans are advancing for a second ‘Northern Nights’ campaign activity that will celebrate our clear dark skies and bright city lights, and before that, work will be completed on a brand new visitabdn.com website that will act as a shop window for all that is great about our region for our visitors to enjoy. In this issue you will find advice on how to maximise your profile on this exciting new platform, as well as a look back at the impact of our work to support our growing visitor economy in 2024 and earlier this year.

VisitAberdeenshire 2024/25 Impact Report

Last week VisitAberdeenshire published its Impact Report for financial year 2024/25. With a tourism sector valued at £1.27bn in 2024, our work continued to:

• Increase awareness, visits and spend - for leisure and for conventions.
• Foster innovation and growth among local businesses.
• Provide leadership for a diverse sector.

At the same time we began to transition our organisation and welcomed commercial partners and advertisers who recognise the value of our campaigns, platforms and initiatives.

As we head further into 2025 our team will maintain the momentum required to drive demand and increase visitor spend in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, and to support businesses to develop and meet that demand.

Click here to view the report.

A deeper dive into our Spring 2025 campaign

Last month we shared the headline results for our Above and beyond Spring campaign, which ran in March and April.

This shoulder season campaign generated over £600,000 in attributable visitor spend and reinforced positive messaging around travel beyond the traditional peak summer months.

We’ve now produced a factsheet and detailed deck for you to explore, and share with your own network.

Click here to find out more.

Tourism Development team update

Last week we welcomed third year BA (Hons) Digital Marketing student Stacey Milne to the team for a 12-month work-based placement.

Stacey who is currently studying at the Robert Gordon University joins the organisation in the role of Tourism Development Executive, working alongside Kayleigh McLeish, Tourism Development Manager and Rachel Smith, Tourism Business Adviser, in the Tourism Development team.

The Tourism Development team provide advice and support to help local tourism and hospitality businesses develop skills and experiences to meet demand from an ever-changing market.

If you would like to arrange a call with a member of the team to find out more about the support available and how you can work with VisitAberdeenshire, please do get in touch.

Don’t miss out – claim and update your business listing now!

We’re getting ready to launch a brand new website and we want to make sure your business is included.

Therefore, if your business is currently listed on Visitabdn.com but you have not yet claimed the listing, please make sure you do by Wednesday 24  September to ensure you feature on the new website. It’s quick and free to do – just click here to get started. 

If you have already claimed your listing, please take the time to log into your account and review the information provided, including opening times, website links, and social media links, and ensure it is all up-to-date by Wednesday 24  September. You can log in to your account here.

If you have any questions, please contact submissions@visitabdn.com.   

Maximise your visibility today and be part of the story that brings visitors to Scotland’s North-east

Did you know that VisitAberdeenshire offer a variety of advertising opportunities available to tourism and hospitality businesses in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire?

From adverts on visitabdn.com, to sponsored or exclusive consumer newsletters, to social media spotlights, to bespoke tailored package, we have something for everyone.

Why Advertise with VisitAberdeenshire?

• Over 124,000 monthly website views
• A social media community of over 106,000 followers with a high engagement rate
• An engaged audience of more than 131,000+ email subscribers with a high open rate of 32% on average
• Trusted Destination Resource: Be featured with the official destination management organisation for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire
• Targeted Audience Reach: Access a highly engaged audience already invested in travel and tourism in the North-east of Scotland.
• Performance-Driven Campaigns: Our campaigns focus on actionable data to maximise your return on investment.

By advertising with VisitAberdeenshire, you'll reach a targeted audience seeking accommodation, attractions, dining, and experiences in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. Get in touch with Gemma today to discuss a personalised campaign strategy, or click here to view the 2025 Advertising Kit.

Get ready for Northern Nights

Looking to build on the success of last year's Northern Nights marketing campaign, we recently delivered a webinar on ‘creating winter experiences to extend your visitor season’ to help businesses prepare for the 2025/26 campaign starting later this year.  You can catch up on the recording on our industry website, here. Alongside this, we are also currently offering one-to-one advice sessions to tourism and hospitality businesses who are looking to develop a winter or dark skies experience. If you would like to book a one-to-one with a member of the Tourism Development team, please click here.

Join us for the next ‘VisitAberdeenshire Presents…’ webinar to find out more about the 2025/26 campaign and how you can get involved. See details below.

Upcoming VisitAberdeenshire events

News from other organisations

Aberdeenshire restaurant week returns

Following the success of its debut year, Aberdeenshire Restaurant Week will return this year as a two-week culinary showcase, running from November 3-16.

Restaurant Week will once again feature special menus, deals, and discounts designed to attract locals and visitors alike – giving diners a great reason to explore the region’s culinary hotspots.

Plans for this year also include linking Restaurant Week with the Aberdeenshire Loves Local gift card campaign and exploring new partnerships between local food producers and hospitality outlets to further strengthen the region’s food economy for the future.

Businesses can now register to take part in Aberdeenshire Restaurant Week 2025 via restaurantweek@aberdeenshire.gov.uk or visiting www.aberdeenshirerestaurantweek.com

Provision of Visitor & Events Catering at Macduff Marine Aquarium

Aberdeenshire Council is looking for an operator to run its new cafe / restaurant due to open at Macduff Marine Aquarium in 2026. This exciting new addition to the aquarium will be located on the first floor with views out to sea and into the main exhibition tank. It will offer catering both for aquarium visitors and for events on-site.

Interested parties will need to be registered with the Public Contracts Scotland portal and can access the tender information here: View Notice - Public Contracts Scotland . Submissions are due by 3 September. If you need any help with navigating a tender submission via PCS, please contact: twotownsbigideas@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

Become Carbon Literate certified with Keep Scotland Beautiful

Learn how the Climate Emergency relates to Scotland's tourism sector and how to respond effectively. This training will empower you to take effective action on climate change at a sector, organisation and individual level.

The training is suitable for people, organisations and businesses involved with accommodation, tours, a visitor attraction, food and drink*, or organisations supporting the sector.

The training is relevant for staff of all levels and roles - from self-employed tour guides through to hotel managers. To find out more, click here.

*For food and drink producers, we also offer a Carbon Literacy for Rural Industries course, in partnership with SAC Consulting. Please contact SACcarbonliteracy@keepscotlandbeautiful.org