For a third consecutive year, Aberdeenshire Council is providing grant funding for SMEs to attend VisitScotland Connect 2026. The aim of this grant is to enable businesses to access new markets and enhance the travel trade experiences offering in Aberdeenshire.
VisitScotland’s flagship travel trade event, VisitScotland Connect, will take place at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow on Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 April.
The event offers an opportunity to grow the North-east’s share of global travel, providing a platform for local tourism businesses to meet with tour operators and travel buyers in person, under one roof.
The grant from Aberdeenshire Council covered the cost of one day attendance at VisitScotland Connect as a supplier. Travel to/from, and accommodation in Glasgow is not included in the funding and it is the responsibility of the business attending to cover these costs.
If you would like to know more about attending VisitScotland Connect, please email the Tourism Development team at industry@visitabdn.com.
How to apply
Complete the application form linked below. Applications will close at 5pm, Monday 5th January 2026.
VisitScotland Connect 2026
VisitScotland Connect is Scotland’s largest business-to-business travel trade event.
Tourism businesses with travel trade bookable products have the opportunity to connect and engage with international and UK travel trade buyers through a workshop-style event.
Read more about VisitScotland Connect 2026 below.
Conditions of funding
| Eligibility criteria | Eligible businesses must meet the following criteria:
¹ If you are not currently offering a tourism product that can be contracted at trade rates, and/or have a trade listing with VisitScotland, we would still encourage you to apply. VisitAberdeenshire and VisitScotland will work with you via the support programme to be travel trade ready before the event. ² Eligible businesses that wish to attend both days can still apply but will need to meet the additional costs for the second day's attendance themselves. ³ Meeting diaries for VisitScotland Connect 2025 will open in February 2025. VisitScotland and VisitAberdeenshire will provide advice and support to businesses to help fill meeting diaries in advance of the event. ⁴ Businesses who have attended a Travel Trade Masterclass in the past two years are not required to attend the workshop unless they feel it necessary. |
| Travel Trade support programme | VisitAberdeenshire and VisitScotland will provide support with your application for VisitScotland Connect 2026 and help you prepare in the lead up to the event. The programme of support is designed to ensure that businesses are travel trade ready. Being travel trade ready means that a business:
The Travel Trade support programme will consist of the following:
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