VisitAberdeenshire News - September 2025

A new destination website for Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire will launch in the Autumn – Ensure that you claim and update your business listing to be featured

If you currently have a business listing on our visitabdn.com website, you will have received communications from a member of our team asking you to either claim your existing listing, or to update it. In 2020, an online portal was introduced allowing businesses to take ownership of their listings, enabling them to log in and update their information at any time. If you have not yet claimed ownership of your listing, please click here to create an account and claim it now. You can find guidance on how to claim your listing here.

If you already have ownership of your listing, please take the time to review it and ensure all information including images, weblinks, opening times and business details are up to date. Click here to log in.

The deadline for claiming and updating your listings is 5pm on Wednesday 24 September. After this time, you will temporarily not be able to log in or make any amendments until the new website is live. Any listings not claimed by the 24 September will not be carried over to the new website.

If you have any questions or need support during this time, please contact submissions@visitabdn.com.

Volume and value of tourism in the north-east: infographics now available

In recent months we’ve shared the big headlines, and more detailed slide decks for Aberdeen city, Aberdeenshire (excluding the city) and for the region as a whole. We know it’s vital for businesses to have these figures in an easy to digest, shareable format, so we’re happy to share that three infographics are now available on our website. We hope you will find these visuals easy to share and useful for benchmarking, and informing marketing and planning. To discuss these insights, contact our Insights & Evaluation Manager, deirdre.odonnell@visitabdn.com

Click here to view the infographics.

Aberdeen Convention Bureau – driving growth across the region 

Offshore Europe may have just come to an end, but we continue to welcome delegates to business events in the region throughout the year. In 2024/25 the Aberdeen Convention Bureau worked with partners across the city to secure a pipeline of future conference business worth nearly £60 million. This included World Agritourism Conference 2026, that will attract up to 1000 delegates, and European Association for Geoscientists and Engineers 2026, that will attract up to 6000 attendees.  

With business event delegates spending up to £700 per person per day in Scotland, this is a highly valuable sector, and a huge growth opportunity for the region.  Whilst P&J Live is the flagship venue that has really put Aberdeen on the map since 2019, conference organisers are attracted by venues across the region, ranging from the Aberdeen Music Hall, to our Universities, and even Inverurie Academy.

Beyond the conferences themselves, organisers are wowed by our castles, galleries and wide open spaces for social programmes. Add a supply chain including caterers, transport providers, and AV specialists, and the positive impact of hosting business events is felt all across the North-east. The Aberdeen Convention Bureau is led by Laura Wilson who has 18 years of experience in the business events sector, supported by Rachel Mumford and Rebecca McIntyre.

Winter marketing through Northern Nights

Building on the success of our winter marketing campaign last year, we are preparing for the launch of our 2025/26 Northern Nights campaign. This year, we have successfully secured funding via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to run an enhanced promotion for Aberdeen city in addition to the region-wide promotion.

The aim of the campaign is to highlight all of the sights and sounds of winter in the North-east, ranging from the dark skies, winter events, cosy escapes and unforgettable experiences. Whether you are a visitor attraction, accommodation provider or food and drink experience, there are ways for you to engage with the campaign and attract visitors during this time. Join us on Wednesday 17 September for our upcoming ‘VisitAberdeenshire Presents…‘ webinar to find out more.  

Our Tourism Development team are currently working with businesses by offering one-to-one advice sessions. If you are interested in creating a winter experience or would like to find out more, click here. You can also catch up on our ‘Creating winter experiences’ webinar by clicking here.

Take part in Scotland’s Climate Week 2025

Scotland’s Climate Week returns this year from 29 September to 5 October 2025. The annual event provides a platform to raise awareness of climate action, encouraging individuals, communities, schools, and businesses to share their stories and take practical steps towards a net-zero future. Business Energy Scotland has shared their five tips on how your business can get involved, and find out about the local events taking place over Climate Week North East. Click here to read more or see below for details on our upcoming webinar with Business Energy Scotland.

Upcoming VisitAberdeenshire events

News from other organisations

Take part in the Scotland Agritourism Survey 2025

Scotland’s Agritourism Survey 2025 will help build a better understanding of the support required to grow the country’s agritourism and farm retail sector. 

The research, undertaken by VisitScotland in partnership with Scottish Agritourism, looks to establish the size and scale of agritourism and farm retail in Scotland and . ensure that the impact of tourism, leisure and retail on farms is recognised and celebrated. The results will be used to inform future decision-making and ensure the sector benefits from targeted support. 

The survey is open to all farms, crofts, estates and small holdings operating agritourism and farm retail businesses as well as those considering adding agritourism or retail to their operations The survey will close on Monday 15 September, to make sure your business is counted visit: https://tinyurl.com/AgritourismOther 

Inspiring Scotland - Changing Places Toilets Scotland Fund

Changing Places Toilets are larger accessible toilets designed to meet the needs of disabled people who need carer support and specialist equipment to use the facilities and have their personal care needs met, fulfilling this basic human right for them. The aim of the Fund is to increase the number of Changing Places Toilets in Scotland and so meet the human rights of disabled people who cannot use a standard accessible toilet. An additional benefit of providing Changing Places facilities is that it can attract more visitors to the area.

Application deadline: Monday 20th October 2025

Click here to read more.