Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for tourism businesses
2023-03-27 11:00 - 12:30 UTC
Join the second of two 90-minute webinars designed specifically to tell you how to improve the search engine results rankings of your tourism business.
In part 1, we saw how search engines work and how to find out what people are searching for.
In part 2, we’ll look at the many factors that influence how far up the search rankings you go.
You’ll see how to optimise these factors and how to keep up with future changes in the algorithms that search engines use. You’ll be shown how use tools and plug-ins such as Google Search Console, Google Business Profile and robots.txt
We’ll then demonstrate how to avoid ‘violations’ and their consequent penalties.

Blogging for tourism businesses
2023-03-30 11:00 - 12:30
Learn the fundamentals of cost-effectively preparing, writing, and distributing blogs that your visitors will read. Making sure that your effort inspires and helps your visitor to plan and book their trip with you.
Get tools to help you research, understand your customer and write highly targeted content which will help to optimise your website and grow your list of followers.

VisitScotland Connect 2023
2023-04-19 09:00 - 2023-04-20 16:00 | P&J Live, East Burn Road, Aberdeen, AB21 9FX, United Kingdom
VisitScotland Connect 2023 will be taking place at the P&J Live Aberdeen on April 19-20, 2023.
VisitScotland is focused on rebuilding international tourism demand and supporting the country’s ambitions to be a leading destination for responsible tourism.
The format for this event will be a new business-to-business travel trade workshop connecting Buyers from around the globe with Scottish tourism businesses, helping to rebuild Scotland’s valuable tourism industry.
Speak to your VisitScotland contact if you are interested in joining this event or use the registration links on the website.

Fife Tourism Talks: Who are our visitors?
2023-04-20 15:30 - 16:30
The Fife Tourism Partnership is hosting a series of webinars on key current issues in the tourism industry.
These free webinars are a great way of hearing from industry experts, case studies from local businesses and a chance to meet other likeminded businesses. All the sessions will be held on Thursday afternoons at 3.30pm, via Teams.
This session we welcome Duncan from 56 Insight who are conducting research on who our current and potential visitors are.

Creative Concierge: summer 2023
2023-04-27 18:00 - 20:00
VisitScotland have teamed up with the V&A Dundee to invite front-line tourism, hospitality and retail staff to the first Creative Concierge event of the year.
Come along and hear about some of the exciting new things to see and do in the city over the coming months. You’ll have the opportunity to take a look at V&A Dundee’s newest exhibition – Tartan, hear about Radio One’s Big Weekend and The Dundee Tartan Trail. VisitScotland will provide an update on tourism and you’ll have the chance to meet some of the friendly VisitScotland iCentre team.
These events are a great way to catch up with colleagues working in the industry. Join us from 6pm – 8pm on Thursday 27 April at V&A Dundee.
Front-of-house staff as well as sole traders are invited to attend to learn more and to share with your customers and guests.
Format
6.00pm Guests arrive, refreshments served
6.20pm Welcome to the event and V&A Dundee
6.25pm Hear about V&A Dundee – Tartan exhibition, Radio One’s Big Weekend, and the Dundee Tartan Trails
7.00pm Guests visit Tartan and networking
8.00pm Close
Dress code – Tartan (optional)

Fife Tourism Talks: Youth Development - inspiring the next generation
2023-05-18 15:30 - 16:30
The Fife Tourism Partnership is hosting a series of webinars on key current issues in the tourism industry.
These free webinars are a great way of hearing from industry experts, case studies from local businesses and a chance to meet other likeminded businesses. All the sessions will be held on Thursday afternoons at 3.30pm, via Teams.
This session welcomes Amanda Liddle from DYW Fife to chat about inspiring the next generation about careers in tourism.

Shaping the future of tourism in Angus
2023-08-23 16:00 - 18:00 | Forbes of Kingennie, DD5 3RD
Join us at Forbes of Kingennie Country Resort on Wednesday 23 August 2023, where we will be reviewing what has been delivered through the Angus Tourism Framework over the last year, and looking at current challenges and priorities to help shape action plans for the year ahead.
This workshop is open to anyone connected to tourism in Angus, including businesses, community groups and volunteers.
See Eventbrite for more details and to register.

UKinbound Annual Convention
2023-09-20 11:00 - 2023-09-21 19:30 | Assembly Buildings, 2-10 Fischerwick Place, Belfast, BT1 6DW
This flagship event will bring together more than 250 travel trade professionals from all corners of the UK and all across the industry for two days of networking opportunities, seminars and workshops, one-to-one business meetings, and engaging discussions on the critical issues facing the industry.
The convention is a fantastic opportunity to meet all your travel trade business needs in one place.
Join this event to:

Meet and connect with new industry contacts and strengthen existing relationships
Generate new business through a major day business-to-business workshops with one-to-one scheduled appointments and free-flow session
Hear the latest insights and trends from industry experts
Be inspired by keynote speaker Jamil Qureshi – author of the acclaimed The Mind Coach and recognised leader in the psychology of performance and leadership
Share experiences and ideas with like-minded travel trade professionals
Celebrate the successes of our industry at the Awards for Excellence Gala Dinner
Discover the very best that Belfast and Northern Ireland have to offer through a range of exciting familiarisation trips

Tourism businesses: Make your website work for your customers – best practice in user experience (UX)
2023-10-03 11:00 - 12:00
Your website is your shop window to the world. It’s important to manage it well, so find out how to attract and delight customers with it.
At the end of this webinar you will:

Understand how users consume content.
Understand the importance of knowing your online users’ experience and tailoring the customer journey on your website accordingly.
Find out how to measure user experience cost-effectively.
Have some great examples of making user experience work.

Tourism businesses: Instagram, TikTok & YouTube - should you be on them and how?
2023-10-05 11:00 - 12:30
Learn how to maximise your content on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube with our webinar designed specifically for tourism businesses.
Attendees will gain insights into:

Understanding key Social Media platforms: Learn about the differences between Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, including the best content to share for each.
Your brand’s voice: This includes creating your unique social voice and the importance of creating personas for your business.
Platform best practices: Learn how to create meaningful, engaging, original and consistent content, along with platform-specific best practices and creative content ideas for your business.
Short-form video creation: Understanding the importance of short-form video content, creating a video checklist, adhering to best practices, and using templates to create video’s
Travel trends analysis: The webinar will also explore the latest travel trends on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, helping you stay on top of current social media trends.

Blogging for tourism businesses
2023-10-12 11:00 - 12:30
This webinar will help you learn the fundamentals of cost-effectively preparing, writing, and distributing blogs that your visitors will read. Making sure that that your effort inspires and helps your visitor to plan and book their trip with you.
Get tools to help you research, understand your customer and write highly targeted content which will help to optimise your website and grow your list of followers.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for tourism businesses – Part 1
2023-10-24 11:00 - 12:30
Join the first of two 90-minute webinars designed specifically to help you improve the search engine results rankings of your tourism business.
It’s more vital than ever to get your business to the first few places in the online search results page. These two 90-minute events will tell you all you need to know to improve your rankings, including how search engines work.
This first session will show you how search engines work and we’ll show you the anatomy of results pages and what customers and clients look at on these pages.
You’ll see how to find out what key words people are using when they search for your service, and we’ll demonstrate how you use that information to greatly increase your ranking in results pages.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for tourism businesses – Part 2
2023-10-26 11:00 - 12:30
Join the second of two 90-minute webinars designed to tell you how to improve the search engine results rankings of your tourism business.
In part 1, we saw how search engines work and how to find out what people are searching for.
In part 2, we’ll look at the many factors that influence how far up the search rankings you go.
You’ll see how to optimise these factors and how to keep up with future changes in the algorithms that search engines use. You’ll be shown how use tools and plug-ins such as Google Search Console, Google Business Profile and robots.txt
We’ll then demonstrate how to avoid ‘violations’ and their consequent penalties.

Scottish Tourism Alliance Autumn Conference
2023-10-31 09:00 - 17:00 | Edinburgh International Conference Centre, 150 Morrison Street, Edinburgh, EH3 8EE
The Scottish Tourism Alliance’s Autumn Conference will bring together leading voices and experts from a broad range of sectors for a day packed with speaker presentations, panel sessions and plenty of opportunities to catch up with colleagues and create new connections.
The programme has been designed to support and empower the tourism and hospitality industry, and all those connected to it, to thrive in the present but also well into the future, as we collectively work to deliver on Scotland’s vision to be a leader in 21st century tourism.
Whether you’re a business owner or manager, supplier or aspiring leader, this is an unmissable event, with attendees given access to the latest insights, trends and forecasts for travel and hospitality, the economy, and policy as well as an update on Scotland Outlook 2030, Scotland’s National Tourism Strategy.
You will also benefit from invaluable advice and actionable learnings both for tackling challenges and capitalising opportunities that they may be facing in the industry now and in the future.

Help Boost International Visitor Numbers and Enhance Experiences
2023-12-07 11:00 - 12:00
The world is travelling again on a mass scale; international visitor numbers are increasing, with the recovery of inbound holiday visits to Scotland, faster than for the UK as whole.
Is your business ready to capitalise on the return of the international market, to stand out from the competition and to offer the high-quality experience these visitors expect?
The Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) is partnering with leading, globally ranked translation and interpreting organisation, Transatlantic Translations Group (TTG), to deliver a free online webinar on using translation and interpreting as a powerful tool to attract international visitors and enhance their experience.
Whether you’re a hotel or visitor attraction, a tour operator or destination management organisation, this webinar is relevant for hospitality and tourism businesses of all types and sizes, and will debunk the myths, highlight the tangible benefits and offer accessible and actionable advice related to accessing language solutions now or in the future.
As well as hearing how businesses have successfully unlocked the opportunities provided by translation and interpreting, there will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions, both anonymously ahead of the event and during the session.

Online Communications Masterclass - Scotland's Agritourism Monitor Farms
2024-01-18 09:00 - 10:00
Join online to learn how to communicate the story of your business and family to both a consumer and industry audience. Claire Taylor our programme communications expert will offer practical advice and support across different communications channels.
OIivia Midgley and Jeremy Buxton will also be contributing. Olivia is a journalist and editor specialising in food, farming, rural affairs, news, features and analysis. She is the Editor at Farmers Guardian. Jeremy formerly worked for Sky as a presenter and returned to farming in 2010 and has spent the last decade adding livestock, opening a campsite, planting agroforestry / fruit trees and in the last year opened a farm shop. Jeremy is skilled in broadcasting, video, and documentaries.
Any farm or crofting business, rural tourism or rural food and drink business can take part.

Inclusion and Accessibility in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality
2024-01-23 10:00 - 13:00
Experienced in successfully delivering Inclusion and Accessibility Workshops to the Scottish Travel, Tourism and Hospitality sector throughout 2022, we are pleased to be able to offer Part 1 of our workshops to all who work in this vital industry to the Scottish economy, once again.
Join us to discuss and explore inclusion and accessibility for disabled people and all in wider society, as an employer and service provider of goods and services.
+ We are Visible Inclusive Accessibility (VIA)
A social enterprise, whose aim is to help alter perspectives and in turn, breakdown the barriers disabled people face and improve experiences for all.
+ Workshops
We are pleased to be able to offer the opportunity to attend Part 1 of these workshops on: Tuesday 23rd January, between 10.00 am and 1.00 pm.
+ Aims
The aims of the workshop are to support your development through discussion and sharing practical solutions to improve experiences for all.
In the workshop we will discuss different ways in which society can view disability and the barriers (seen and unseen) which can be encountered.
Through practical discussion, we hope to increase confidence and encourage a wider perspective when considering disability, barriers and adjustments.
+ The workshop will cover

Definitions and Models of Disability
Equality Act 2010
Disability Employment Gap and landscape in Scotland
Reasonable Adjustments and Removing Barriers.

These workshops have been developed through lived experiences and we would like to encourage you to bring your own lived experience to this event.

Cruise business seminar 2024
2024-01-24 09:30 - 12:30 | Doubletree by Hilton, North Queensferry, St Margarets Head, North Queensferry, KY11 1HP
In 2024, over 160 cruise ship visits will take place, involving over 200,000 passengers and crew. Not only will cruise ship passengers be on “day visits”, many will be beginning or ending their cruise on the Forth or the Tay, and will require accommodation or other services. Some ships stay overnight.
Are you already a cruise friendly business, operating within 90 minutes of the ports of Leith, Newhaven, South Queensferry, Rosyth or Dundee (and even Greenock)? If you would like to know more about the opportunities, or believe you have something to offer, then this seminar is for you.
The event is organised by award winning CruiseForth, a project that is entering its second decade, and will be attended by cruise excursion representatives.
Please register you interest as soon as possible, and by 8th January at the latest by sending an email to info@cruiseforth.com. The organisers normally only allows one representative per organisation.

Accessible Tourism Open Day
2024-02-02 10:00 - 12:00 | The Rings, Chance Inn, Cupar, KY15 5QJ
Located in the heart of the Fife countryside, near Cupar, The Rings offers self-catering accommodation with advanced accessibility features.
Owner Moira Henderson is a passionate advocate for inclusive tourism and has developed innovative approaches to make her accommodations fully accessible.
Come along to this informal event to witness firsthand Moira’s ingenious approach to accessibility, and learn how to apply these methods to your own business to make it more inclusive.

ETAG conference 2024
2024-02-06 11:30 - 17:00 | Edinburgh International Conference Centre, 150 Morrison Street, Edinburgh, EH3 8EE
Join industry colleagues at the ETAG Conference 2024 – the “must attend” event for everyone with an interest in Edinburgh’s visitor economy.
This year’s conference programme will include updates on Edinburgh’s visitor economy activity and developments. It will also highlight the latest tourism trends and insights.
The much loved “spotlight sessions” are still a firm fixture on the programme, where you’ll hear about some of the exciting projects coming to the city over the coming year or so.

HIT Scotland Talent Conference
2024-02-08 09:00 - 17:00 | Voco Grand Central Hotel, 99 Gordon Street, Glasgow, G1 3SF
The HIT Scotland Talent Conference will take place at the voco Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow on Thursday 8th February 2024.
The 2024 programme will bring you more inspirational and thought-provoking speakers, which will challenge you and your teams to think differently about your roles and your business and how as an industry we can grow and inspire a skilled workforce.
We have created a programme that will inspire, challenge and inform. We are expecting over 500 attendees from across the hospitality and tourism sector in Scotland so as always the event will provide a brilliant platform for networking, connecting and meeting with other like-minded professionals in our industry.

Fife Tourism Conference 2024
2024-02-27 09:00 - 15:30 | Adam Smith Theatre, Bennochy Road, Kirkcaldy, KY1 1ET
The Fife Tourism Conference is back for 2024 with the theme of “developing new markets”. Gain insights from experienced speakers and leaders, shaping the future of tourism in Scotland. Explore the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in our dynamic industry.
Key events and highlights:

Innovation and future trends: Find out where the Scottish tourism industry is going next
Digital advances: Learn about how AI is shaping the future of the tourism industry and how you can get on board
Online Travel Agents: Discover how you can work together with Online Travel Agents to promote your business
Travel trade: Find out how you and your business can get involved in this lucrative market
Sustainability: Hear from other pioneering destinations and local businesses on how you can contribute to making Fife a more sustainable tourism destination
Golf: Hear about sustainability in the golf industry in Fife
Community tourism: Explore how communities are getting involved with tourism and making their own mark
Network: Meet other Fife tourism businesses, forge connections with industry leaders, potential partners, and fellow enthusiasts. Networking sessions are designed to facilitate meaningful interactions and collaborations

SCOTO - Scottish Community Tourism National Gathering & Learning Exchange
2024-02-29 09:00 - 2024-03-01 17:00 | Cairndale Hotel, English Street, Dumfries, DG1 2DF
Welcome to the much-anticipated return of the Scottish National Community Tourism Gathering!

Following the resounding success of last year’s event, hailed as the ‘friendliest’ conference by many attendees, we’re thrilled to announce that this year’s gathering is heading to the “Queen of the South”, Dumfries.
Meet us at the Cairndale Hotel, Dumfries where we’ll celebrate SCOTO Network’s mission to build skills, connections and confidence in people working in community-led tourism.
The theme of the conference this year is ‘Press Pause’ – we want communities to take time out to consider what is working, what isn’t working and how things could be done better/differently to ensure tourism helps make your community an even better place to live, work and visit.
Your participation is not just an event attendance but an opportunity to share insights, experiences and innovative ideas that can contribute and empower the SCOTO Network.
Whether you’re a community tourism activist or simply interested in knowing more about community led tourism in Scotland, this gathering is perfect for you.
Connect with like-minded individuals from across Scotland, share ideas, and discover new ways to develop and promote responsible tourism, which brings real benefits back into the host community.
See the event programme.

Unlocking the potential of Accessible Tourism
2024-03-05 11:30 - 12:30
In this introduction to accessible and inclusive tourism, hear from VisitScotland’s Inclusive Tourism Manager about the value of accessible tourism market, the barriers that some consumers face and how best to attract these extremely loyal customers.
The session will also include information about Accessibility Guides, what are they and why are they important to this market. Insights on this will be provided by Carrie-Ann Lightley, Head of Marketing at AccessAble, an accessibility guide specialist.
We will also hear from Pippa Stacey an award-winning writer, speaker, and charity sector communication consultant about her experience of travelling and living her best life alongside chronic illness.
Both Carrie-Ann and Pippa have been named in the Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 list multiple times.
Packed with practical advice and top tips to implement in your business, guidance on a range of helpful resources, and key insights into this valuable market this workshop is not to be missed.

Accessible tourism - welcoming all customers
2024-03-11 14:00 - 16:30 | St James Quarter, Edinburgh, EH1 3AD
This half-day training course focuses specifically on customer service for disabled customers, which also benefits other customer groups. This is the second in a series of inclusive and accessible tourism events.
Participants will learn about:

adopting a positive attitude to all customers and anticipating accessibility requirements
successful communication styles to identify customer needs
legal obligations and types of discrimination

This interactive session will include activities, exercises, and discussions. Each participant will receive a guide containing practical tips. Participants also receive a jointly branded VisitScotland / Welcome to Excellence attendance certificate.
Normally, a full-day course would cost organisations £950 + VAT for 16 delegate places. However, ETAG in partnership with VisitScotland are giving 16 businesses the opportunity to attend a condense version of the course, for a reduced cost of £15 per person.
Please note that there are only 16 places available on this training workshop. To allow more businesses the opportunity to be trained, only one person from each business can sign up to attend.
These events are aimed at tourism businesses only who operate on a B2C (business to consumer) or B2B (business to business) basis.
Unfortunately, no places are available for intermediaries, consultants or suppliers of services.

Scottish Tourism Month 2024: The Signature Conference
2024-03-12 09:00 - 2024-03-13 17:00 | P&J Live, East Burn Road, Aberdeen, AB21 9FX, United Kingdom
March is dedicated to Scottish Tourism Month; an opportunity to amplify the voice of the tourism and hospitality industry, recognising its enormous contribution to Scotland and highlighting the support it needs to overcome the immense challenges it faces to grow sustainably.
The flagship event of Scottish Tourism Month, The Signature Conference, will explore these themes from Tuesday 12th to Wednesday 13th March 2024 at the P&J Live in Aberdeen
Delivered as a collaboration between leading industry trade bodies, The Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA), the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) and the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA), the event is designed to connect, engage and empower organisations in and related to the sector.
The biggest conference of its kind in Scotland, the event will bring together the leading voices in the industry and beyond to deliver a high-quality programme which will cover:

The latest trends and insights across travel, tourism, hospitality, food and drink, the economy and policy.
Useful information and actionable advice to take into your business
Inspirational stories and relevant examples of innovation
Best practice and knowledge sharing

Programme coming soon – early 2024.

Scotland's Marine Tourism Conference 2024
2024-03-19 09:30 - 16:00 | The Waterside, Ardrossan Road, West Kilbride, KA23 9NG
Part of the national Scottish Tourism Month Programme and proudly sponsored by North Ayrshire Council, this is not just Sail Scotland members, everyone related to the industry is welcome to come together, learn, and network with others.
The event is for everyone with an interest in the marine tourism sector; whether it’s the delivery, skills, supply chain, marketing or development.
This year, the event will be focusing on:

the strategic importance of marine tourism and sustainable and responsible consumer behaviour
the importance of continued investment in marketing, infrastructure, and product development
opportunities and things to think about now
how everyone can collaborate to grow marine tourism further

The programme is still being finalised but it will include input from:

Fiona Hyslop MSP – Minister for Transport
Gavin McDonagh – Chairman of Sail Scotland and MD of Holt Leisure Group
Rob Dickson – Director of Industry and Destination Development, VisitScotland
Joshua Ryan-Saha – Director of Traveltech for Scotland Daniel Steel – CEO, Sail Scotland
Sinead Sheridan – Marine Planning and Policy Officer for NatureScot

Please remember that tickets are limited, and this event has often sold out in the past.
So, please book early and come along to join the debate and hear from our line-up of expert speakers, with more to be announced soon!

Responsible Tourism for a Sustainable Future
2024-03-19 15:00 - 16:00
In an exciting new partnership, VisitScotland are working with The Travel Corporation (TTC) and the Travel Foundation, to host a free “Responsible Tourism for a Sustainable Future” webinar.
The one-hour webinar on Tuesday 19 March will offer Scottish tourism businesses an insight into what global tour operators are looking for when choosing a business to work with in Scotland and advice on futureproofing your products and services.
The session will include guest speakers, case studies, free tools available to help businesses with their climate action planning, as well as advice on creating bookable experiences for tour operators – a key booking channel for international visitors.
The Travel Corporation is a global operator whose brands include Contiki, Luxury Gold, Insight Vacations, Brendan Vacations and Trafalgar. As well as sharing the latest consumer trends, the Travel Corporation will also outline the opportunities to support its development of MAKE TRAVEL MATTER ® Experiences and its collective mission to reduce emissions in its tour programmes globally.
As part of our ongoing work to support the industry on its journey to low carbon, the “Responsible Tourism for a Sustainable Future” webinar will include information about the free tools and resources available to help Scottish tourism businesses meet their net zero targets including our Climate Action Planning guide.

VisitScotland Connect 2024
2024-04-17 09:00 - 2024-04-18 17:00 | P&J Live, East Burn Road, Aberdeen, AB21 9FX, United Kingdom
VisitScotland Connect 2024 will be taking place at the P&J Live Aberdeen on April 17-18, 2024.
VisitScotland Connect 2023 marked our first in-person event since the COVID-19 pandemic. The new workshop style format helped 175 tourism businesses connect with over 250 tour operators and travel advisors representing 23 countries.
Our 2024 event will follow the same a business-to-business travel trade workshop structure, connecting Buyers from around the globe with Scottish tourism businesses.
Please note: VisitScotland Connect 2024 is a closed event and only pre-approved businesses will be allowed entry.

ASSC regional gathering: navigating change, embracing opportunity
2024-04-22 13:00 - 17:00 | Perth Theatre, Mill Street, Perth, PH1 5HZ
The ASSC invites you to their first regional gathering of 2024, aimed at businesses and organisations involved in the self-catering sector.
The afternoon will kick off with ample networking opportunities, bringing together fellow operators, tourism professionals, and the dedicated team at ASSC. It’s a prime chance to connect with several dynamic partners and enjoy a diverse range of offerings. From sustainable products to indispensable services like insurance, banking, and booking agents, there’s something for everyone to explore.
The event includes a fantastic line-up of speakers, including Tiomóid Foley, VisitScotland Net Zero Manager, and Scott MacLean, Managing Director of Green Tourism. Additionally, ASSC CEO, Fiona Campbell, will provide updates on pertinent topics such as short-term let licensing and planning, FHL abolition, and the visitor levy.
Furthermore, there will be a panel discussion titled “Leading change: empowering the self-catering sector for responsible tourism and climate action”, featuring ASSC Chair, Clare Winskill, and Gordon Drummond of Cairngorm Lodges amongst others.
This gathering isn’t just about convening; it’s about bringing together Scotland’s self-catering community to honour and celebrate Earth Day and embrace the mission of responsible tourism.
Embark on a journey to champion sustainability, empower the industry, and pave the way for a brighter, greener future.
Mark your calendars and join this event to kick-start your journey to make a meaningful difference in Scotland’s self-catering sector.
