VisitAberdeenshire News - March 2025

Welcome to the March edition of VisitAberdeenshire News, highlighting our forthcoming promotional campaigns, ideas on how you can stand out from the crowd on our promotional platforms, and news on tools and initiatives that can help you plan for the year ahead.

Chris

Spring visitor campaign

Over the coming weeks, profiled prospective visitors in the Central Belt and the North of England will see highly targeted advertisements for spring breaks in the North East as part of our latest inspirational visitor campaign. The campaign encourages visitors to discover the beauty of spring in the north-east of Scotland, immerse themselves in blooming landscapes, embark on outdoor adventures, and explore cultural events and heritage sites. Whether spotting wildlife or enjoying a tranquil escape, visitors can experience it all.

New Spring ‘Make a day of it’ in Aberdeen encourages locals into the city

On Monday 3 March, we launched our spring ‘Make a day of it’ campaign, which targets locals to visit and explore Aberdeen city. Financed by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund via Aberdeen City Council using paid meta campaign and a content partnership with DC Thomson, the campaign will run until 17 March. As part of the campaign and to drive leads, we have a competition where five lucky people will win up a £100 Aberdeen Gift Card! You can view the campaign landing page here.

Raise your profile with VisitAberdeenshire’s advertising opportunities

Our marketing campaigns do an amazing job of promoting the City and Shire as visitor destinations to benefit business across the region, as do our own channels such as social media, website, and valuable e-marketing to our engaged audience of 130,000 subscribers. But of course, we can’t feature every business in every ad’.  However, our paid-for advertising options allow you to stand out from the crowd and get your business in front of visitors actively planning their next trip to the region. Download our Advertising Kit here, or contact Gemma Laing direct gemma.laing@visitabdn.com to discover what will work for you.

Prepare for Tall Ships Races Aberdeen 2025

A once in a generation event is coming to Aberdeen 19 – 22 July 2025. The Tall Ships Races will attract visitors from far and near to celebrate over the four day festival.

To help businesses prepare, we have created a dedicated page on our Industry website where you can find links to the official Tall Ships Races Aberdeen website, a recording of the recent industry webinar, business opportunities and soon, a business support toolkit. Business Gateway are also hosting a Digital Marketing Masterclass to help businesses capitalise on this high profile event.

Click here to find out more.

Stay ahead of major events in the region with our new event calendar

VisitAberdeenshire has introduced the ‘Key Regional Events’ calendar on the industry website, providing a month-by-month overview of significant events across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. Use this resource to strategically plan your marketing and operations around periods of increased visitor activity.

You can check out the calendar here.

Aberdeen City Accommodation audit

A recent insights project VisitAberdeenshire has been working on is the Aberdeen City Accommodation Audit. This project was funded by Aberdeen City Council and delivered by Tourism Resources Company (who also carried out the Aberdeenshire Accommodation Audit in 2023). The audit revealed 575 establishments, 7,078 rooms and 14,234 bedspaces within the city boundary limits. This type of research can give us a more accurate understanding of the city’s stock, helping to inform conference/event bid documents, as well as helping to identify where there might be potential accommodation gaps.

Read our factsheet, and more detailed slide deck here.

To discuss this project, or any of the insights and evaluation work we do at VisitAberdeenshire, contact deirdre.odonnell@visitabdn.com

Upcoming VisitAberdeenshire Events

NEWS FROM OTHER ORGANISATIONS

VisitScotland launch new Business Events Monitor

VisitScotland has launched its first ever Business Events Monitor to measure the size and value of the sector in Scotland.

The new data will allow VisitScotland and the wider tourism and events industry to fully understand the impact the business events sector has on the Scottish economy and identify future opportunities.

Business events, often referred to as the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) industry, consists of events ranging in size from 10 to 10,000 delegates, lasting from a day to over two weeks.

Venues, hotels and businesses in the sector are being asked to complete a short online survey targeted at reaching a broad range of respondents. The aim is to build a clearer picture and better understanding of how to promote as well as support and grow the sector.

The monitor will run until 4 April 2025. Complete the survey here.

New Tourism & Hospitality Toolkit launched

A new tourism and hospitality toolkit has been created to support employers and employees across Scotland by Serving the Future, in partnership with Skills Development Scotland, Springboard and with support from Tourism and Hospitality Industry Leadership Group.

The resource is split into two sections, employees and employers. The employee section provides advice on training and development, mental health and wellbeing, and financial support. Whilst the employers section provides the tools and information needed to help hire, train and develop your team.

Click here to view to toolkit. 

Your opportunity to support mental health awareness in the hospitality industry is here

Hospitality Health is a Scottish charity focused on improving the mental health and wellbeing of hospitality staff and students. Over 76% of workers in the industry face mental health challenges, with 84% experiencing role-related stress and 62% feeling unsupported. These statistics highlight the urgent need for change.

Hospitality Health provides resources to address mental health, addiction, and overall wellbeing, aiming to create a one-stop support hub for workers to improve their health and happiness. It  is the nominated charity for the Scottish Event Awards, taking place at the O2 Academy on 24 April 2024. To help raise funds for this cause, businesses are encouraged to donate raffle prizes, such as meal vouchers, experience tickets, or products. Contributions directly support initiatives promoting a healthier, more sustainable hospitality industry. For more details or to donate, contact Gordon McIntyre MBE at gordon@hospitalityhealth.org.uk.