VisitAberdeenshire News - June 2025

We are delighted to be welcoming Cruise Britain members to Aberdeen this week for their first ever summer gathering in Scotland. This is the latest tourism sector event to be hosted in Aberdeen, following on from three-years of VisitScotland Connect, the STA Signature Conference in 2024 and UKinbound’s annual convention in 2022. It is a further demonstration that the North-east is not only a destination that tourists want to visit, but also where the UK tourism industry wants to meet.

Chris

Cruise Britain Summer Gathering drops anchor in Aberdeen

This week, Aberdeen proudly welcomes delegates and organisers of the Cruise Britain Summer Gathering – a key event in the cruise business calendar that brings together British cruise port destinations, shore excursion companies, and destination marketing organisations.

Hosting this event is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate how Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire have embraced the cruise sector in recent years. Delegates will explore the region first-hand while discussing both successes and areas for improvement across the sector. The programme also highlights the best of what Aberdeenshire has to offer cruise passengers – from rich heritage to warm welcomes. The gathering itself will take place on board the Viking Saturn ship while she is moored in the South Harbour.

Latest regional insights

New analysis of tourism data shows that economic impact of tourism in the North-east grew to £1.27 billion in 2024, a growth of 2% over 2023. 

The region attracted almost 3.7 million staying visitors in 2024, up 16.9% on 2023, with the sector directly employing 11,400 full-time equivalent jobs. 

More cruise ship arrivals and larger vessels contributed to a 2.8% increase in day visits with a total of 2.59 million people making a day of it in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire throughout the year. 

These latest figures are the result of independent research conducted by Global Tourism Solutions, using the Scottish Tourism Economic Activity Tourism (STEAM) model.  

We have uploaded a headlines slide deck to the industry website. Do keep an eye on the website as we will also be sharing city and shire breakdowns, as well as infographics over the forthcoming weeks. 

If you have any questions regarding the volume and value project, or any other insights queries, do get in touch with Deirdre O’Donnell, Insights & Evaluation Manager, at deirdre.odonnell@visitabdn.com 

Your contribution to the volume/value results

The STEAM project relies on data from visitor attractions and accommodation occupancy. The more businesses contribute, the stronger the insights. To support the 2025 results, we encourage participation in the Moffat Centre* surveys this year.

Visitor Attractions:
Attractions submit monthly visitor numbers and occasional surveys (max 3/year). Participants receive:

• Monthly overview of Scottish visitor numbers
• Online portal access with regional and category-specific data

The Moffat Centre publishes:

• Visitor Attraction Barometer (VAB): Monthly trends and visitor stats from 600+ attractions; data is confidential.
• Visitor Attraction Monitor (VAM): In-depth analysis including visits, staffing, revenue, and marketing; data goes back to 1991.

Accommodation Sector:
With VisitScotland's occupancy survey retired (Dec 2024), the Moffat Centre urges accommodation providers to continue data submission. Participants receive:

• Monthly and quarterly reports
• Access to RIBOS - this is a website for participants providing facilities for accommodation occupancy data entry, results reporting and messaging

All submitted data remains confidential. For info, contact: info@moffatcentre.com

*The Moffat Centre is a Tourism Research consultancy based in Glasgow. Part of their remit is to collect visitor figures from Scottish visitor attractions on behalf of the Scottish Government, VisitScotland and Local Authorities. The data they collect is analysed to show trends and patterns in the Scottish Tourism Industry. The Moffat Centre has been collecting this data since 1999.

Calling all Aberdeen restaurants

The Aberdeen Convention Bureau, which sits within VisitAberdeenshire, is responsible for promoting the region as a business events destination, bidding for conferences and supporting those bringing conferences to Aberdeen.

The Convention Bureau team are working with organisers of the UK Stroke Forum which will be taking place at P&J Live 25 – 27 November 2025 and will attract 2,000 attendees. During the evening of the 26November, Forum organisers would like to encourage attendees to dine in restaurants within the city. 

If you are interested being promoted to this audience, please contact laura.wilson@visitabdn.com with capacities, and any special offers* available to delegates (please note that exclusive use is not required).  

This is an ideal opportunity to welcome conference attendees to your restaurant.

*Special offers can include bespoke menus, delegate discounts or added value options.

Please contact Laura by 12pm on Friday 6 June to be included.

East Coast of Scotland promoted to trade buyers in London

Travel Trade Executive, Alanna Fowler recently travelled to London alongside Farm Stop, Grampian Escapes & Tours, and Aberdeen City Council representatives from the Art Gallery, Maritime Museum to take part in a VisitScotland event spotlighting Destination East Coast. Aimed at DMCs, the event highlighted how a journey along the A96 or the scenic rail trail can deliver a rich and memorable Scottish experience.

VisitAberdeenshire proudly collaborated with colleagues from Fife, Tayside and Perth to demonstrate just how much the East Coast of Scotland has to offer - from cultural gems to rural highlights, and the capacity for Scottish tourism to grow.

Keeping regional events on your radar

Over the summer months, there is a wide variety of cultural events taking place across the region such as Highland Games, Scottish Traditional Boat Festival, Light the Blue, Beyond Van Gogh, Tall Ships Races and many more. We have created a ‘key regional events’ calendar to help you prepare or use in your marketing strategy. Being aware of what’s on in the area, and including events in your social media messaging, can help not only with your business operations but by improving the visitor experience as a whole. To access the calendar, click here.

New advertising opportunities

VisitAberdeenshire has a new 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.

If you are looking to grow your audience or boost your brand awareness, contact Gemma Laing or click here to find out what we can do for you.

You can also find out more about who our audience are, why we target them and how you can too, in our upcoming VisitAberdeenshire Presents… webinar.

Upcoming VisitAberdeenshire events

NEWS FROM OTHER ORGANISATIONS

Apply for National Events Programme funding

The next round of the National Events Programme is now open to events taking place between 1 November 2025 and 31 March 2026. Events can apply for between £5,000 and £25,000 to help deliver innovative new projects and strategic development activity.  Applications will close on Monday 23 June at 12pm. 

Click here to find out more.

NHS Grampian to host webinar for businesses offering animal experiences

Following recent outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses, linked back to animal cuddling/feeding experiences, NHS Grampian's Public Health team has organised a specialist webinar for local businesses.

Although the most recently reported cases have not been in Grampian, it is vital anyone operating a business offering animal interaction understands how to keep themselves, their staff, and the general public safe.

Led by the Health Protection team, the event will include guest speakers from Public Health Scotland, the UK Animal & Plant Health Agency, and local environmental health experts. There will be opportunities to network and ask questions.

The event will take place on Wednesday 18 June, between 4-5.30pm. To register, please call 01224 558520 and ask for Rhona Kirkham or Helen Corrigan.

Applications for the 2025/26 Scottish Rural Leadership Programme are open

The Scottish Rural Leadership Programme is designed to help Scottish rural business owners who have the desire and ambition to grow their business.

It involves a series of engaging and stimulating workshops to help leaders develop themselves and their business through one-to-one coaching, peer-to-peer mentoring, innovation, and an inspirational learning journey to London and Edinburgh.

The programme is being delivered by Elevator UK and will be held regionally across Scotland.

Participants will become part of a well-connected network of nearly 900 rural leaders across Scotland.

To find out more, or to register for the upcoming information session, click here.

Upcoming VisitScotland bitesize webinars

VisitScotland Business Essentials: Bitesize Webinars provide an easy to understand introduction to important topics which can help you improve and grow your business.

As part of VisitScotland’s business support programme, this new series of webinars is open to all Scottish tourism and events businesses. Sign up for these 30-minute sessions and get a short overview of each topic with valuable actionable insights and a chance to ask the experts questions.

• The importance and challenges of the UK domestic market - Thursday 5 June, 2pm – 2:30pm
• Importance of international markets - Thursday 19 June, 2pm – 2:30pm
• Attracting the European visitor - Thursday 3 July, 2pm – 2:30pm

To find out more, click here.