VisitAberdeenshire update 21 October 2022
9 November 2022
Our newsletter this week outlines a range of opportunities: to take part in our Industry Development Programme, sign up to the Aberdeenshire Loves Local gift card, register for VisitScotland Connect 2023, or apply for funding.
VisitAberdeenshire Industry Development Programme 22-23
Based on feedback received on our previous workshops and webinars, we have been planning a comprehensive programme to help you build knowledge and skills in your business. Here are the current live opportunities you can register for. All are offered exclusively for tourism businesses in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
Receive a free sustainability review of your business
We are pleased to offer you the opportunity to receive a sustainability review of your business at no cost to you.
Delivered by Green Tourism, recognised experts in this field, you will receive two one-to-one advice sessions, providing guidance on steps you can take to become more sustainable, and you will leave the process with a prioritised action plan tailored to your business.
Previous participants have rated the reviews very highly and have been pleasantly surprised to realise that they are already undertaking many sustainable actions in their business. In the video below, Alan from City of Aberdeen Distillery shares his experience of taking up this opportunity.
The deadline to register for a sustainability review is Wednesday 30 November.
Webinar - Scottish visitors - from Covid to the cost-of-living crisis - what does this mean for 2023?
In this webinar we welcome back Jim Eccleston and Duncan Stewart of 56 Degree Insight who instigated the Scottish Tourism Index, which tracks Scottish consumer opinion and behaviours when it comes to holidays. Now undertaken on a quarterly basis, it also has a wider focus. The session looks at the results of the latest wave, to be undertaken in late October, and includes answers to questions around how Scottish tourism has performed in 2022 and what the prospects are for 2023. With the current cost of living crisis, a major focus will be on how rising costs are impacting on Scottish residents' holiday intentions for the rest of 2022 and looking forward to 2023.
Date: Tuesday 15 November
Time: 11am - 12 noon
What's shaping tourism demand and what does it mean for your business?
Tourism does not take place in a vacuum. It is continually buffeted by events, something that has been especially true in the past couple of years. This workshop will delve into the underlying factors that shape tourism demand, illustrating many of these through data and trends covering issues as diverse as demographics, economics, consumer behaviour and sustainability. We'll focus on hot topics, providing essential insights for you, and there will be an opportunity to discuss these hot topics and see how they relate to your business and your business planning.
Date: Tuesday 22 November
Time: 10.30am - 1.30pm (including light lunch)
Venue: Hilton Aberdeen TECA
Digital Marketing Masterclass - limited spaces left!
We have a few spaces left on our half day Digital Marketing Masterclass which covers the principles of digital marketing, including visitor persona analysis, social media and SEO, with practical take-aways you can implement straight away.
The Masterclass will include a review of your online presence by a digital marketing expert and following the workshop session, we will arrange a 45-minute 1to1 advice session where you will receive useful tips and recommendations on your digital presence, including how to get your website found, increase the speed and improve the overall user experience.
Date: Wednesday 23 November
Time: 9am - 12.30pm followed by a light lunch
Venue: The Aberdeen Altens Hotel
One to one advice: These sessions will take place during the afternoon of 23 November and all day on 24 November at a time to suit you.
If you are interested in the masterclass but can't manage this date, please let us know (industry@visitabdn.com) as we have scheduled a second one for 24 January.
Register for the Digital Marketing Masterclass
Workshop - Managing your online reputation
Visitors will talk about your business online, but do you listen to all your digital feedback? We don't just mean checking TripAdvisor reviews. Do you know what they are saying about your business on Twitter and other social media platforms without necessarily tagging you in their posts? Today, it's easier than ever to 'listen' to your visitors and actually do something about it!
Delivered in partnership with Business Gateway, presenter Stephen Whitelaw will cover:
- How to manage your business reputation online
- An overview of a range of tools and tactics, including simple and practical ones, that can help you 'listen'
- How to use listening tools to offer a more personalised experience for your visitors and help you manage numerous online review platforms
Date: Thursday 17 November
Time: 2 - 5pm (networking from 1.30pm)
Venue: Thainstone House Hotel, Inverurie
Register for Managing your Online Reputation
See our industry website for regular updates to the programme.
Sign up to 'Aberdeenshire Loves Local' Gift Card
The Aberdeenshire Loves Local Gift Card - part of the national Scotland Loves Local campaign led by Scotland's Town Partnership - is designed to drive local spend to encourage people to try out new businesses from a wide range of sectors including retail, hospitality, health and beauty and visitor attractions.
Aberdeenshire businesses can become part of the free scheme to help encourage much needed footfall back onto the high street of our local towns and villages.
In the near future, Aberdeenshire Council proposes to use funding through LACER (Local Authority Covid Economic Recovery) to collaborate with the gift card initiative and invest £1.3million in pre-loaded gift cards to support direct spending in our local economies.
A webinar providing further information about how the gift card scheme works, with the opportunity for you to ask questions, will take place on Thursday 3 November at 6pm.
Click here for more information about the gift card and how to register for the webinar
VisitScotland Connect 2023 | 19 & 20 April 2023 @ P&J Live, Aberdeen
Scotland's largest business-to-business travel trade event will come to Aberdeen on 19 and 20 April 2023. Tourism businesses with travel trade bookable products have the opportunity to connect and engage with international and UK travel trade buyers through a new format workshop-style event.
The deadline to register is 25 November 2022. Spaces are limited and it is likely that there will be considerable interest, so we advise you to apply early.
Dates: 19 & 20 April 2023, 8:30 - 17:00
Location: P&J Live, Aberdeen
Cost: £1800 + VAT (there is an option to pay this in two instalments over two financial years)
Registration link: https://visitscotland.eventsair.com/visitscotlandconnect23/
If you would like to discuss any aspect of our Travel Trade Ready Programme or engaging with travel trade buyers, please contact christina.wright@visitabdn.com or yvonne.cook@visitabdn.com.
Sustainable Certification Fund for Tourism Recovery
This fund offers a £500 discount on membership fees to tourism businesses looking to gain green certification. This means that for many businesses, the first year of membership of a green certification scheme will be free of charge. The fund is available on a first come, first served basis until March 2023 (or until all available funding has been allocated) and is available through three tourism certification scheme providers: Green Tourism, Green Key and EarthCheck. Read more
If you are signing up to receive a sustainability review of your business and are interested in joining Green Tourism at this discounted rate, please indicate this when registering for your review.
Sustainable fact sheets
VisitScotland has produced a series of fact sheets providing advice and practical tips to help your business become more energy efficient, save water, reduce waste and recycle. Read the fact sheets
Community Cycling Fund - round two
Applications are currently being accepted for the latest round of the Events strand of the Community Cycling Fund.
Part of the £1 million fund launched in May this year, the Community Cycling Fund is being delivered in partnership by EventScotland, sportscotland and the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships to support sustainable cycling projects and free events across Scotland.
Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for the Events strand of the fund are currently being accepted, with applicants able to apply for awards between £5,000 and £15,000 for events taking place 1 April - 2 August 2023. The deadline for submission of the EOI is 5pm on 16 November 2022.
R2 Dinner for 2? Labour tech industry report launched
TravelTech for Scotland has launched a report looking into the staffing crisis in the hospitality sector and the role that robotics and AI can play to help ease the crisis, as well as how existing or new technology can be used to improve conditions for existing employees.
The report identifies tech solutions that assist in scheduling, training and management as vital to the sector's future. It also identifies an acute need to help small businesses, which often lack the financial resources, implementation support or training time to explore tech solutions.
Scottish Agritourism Conference
The largest gathering of the agritourism sector in Scotland will take place this year on 6 - 7 December at Perth Concert Hall. The programme contains inspiring stories from agritourism owners alongside hard facts from industry experts and national agencies. There will be an opportunity to have discussions and ask questions in every session.
Museums and Galleries Fund - The John Ellerman Foundation
The Museums and Galleries Fund aims to help strengthen museums and galleries in the UK by helping organisations to enhance and sustain curatorial development to attract a broader public. The fund is open to a wide variety of collection types and aims to support work which has a legacy within and beyond the organisation.
The fund has a two-stage application process and the deadline for first-stage applications is 5pm, Monday 9 January 2023. Read more and apply
All information is correct at the time of publishing, we recommend that you check opening times and information for individual places before visiting.