The 2014 Comonweatlth Games, the 2014 Ryder Cup, Glasgow’s new Hydro Arena and major infrastructure developments in Dundee are just some of the reasons why Scottish business tourism chiefs can be confident of pushing past the £809m earned from conferences over the past seven years.
Scottish business tourism campaigning is one of the most joined up around. The ‘Winning Years’ slogan is embracing the 2012 Year of Creative Scotland; the 2013 Year of Natural Scotland and the 2014 Year of Homecoming.
Hollywood clearly sees the value in backing a Creative Scotland, with the launch this month of what could be Disney Pixar’s Blockbuster of the year, Brave.
The film’s heroine Merida is a feisty Scots royal miss with a strong independent streak; no doubt a meeting planner in a previous CGI life.
Scots cinematic royalty has been signed up to voice the characters, including Robbie Coltrane, Billy Connolly and Kelly Macdonald. Visit Scotland has not missed a trick in ensuring its marketing message sits prominently at the end of the film titles. Brave evokes the wild and beautiful Highland landscapes and the national tourism board can expect an upturn in visitor numbers on the back of the exposure.
Attracting filmmakers and assisting in venue choices is exactly the kind of work a national business tourism unit should be doing. The streets and buildings of Glasgow have been used by many film directors as ‘doubles’ for streets in Moscow and Philadelphia, among others.
The Glasgow City Marketing Bureau (GCMB), along with the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC), have been winning plaudits for their ‘Glasgow Model’ of risk sharing with meetings and event organisers.
The SECC ‘porcupine’ building is set to give birth in the autumn to the new Hydro arena. The roof centerpiece has been fitted and Hydro Project Director Tom Doyle told CN it was the most advanced building he had worked on. The central 330-tonne section was assembled on the ground, jacked up to full height on a temporary structure, with 16 segments attached to it, using a 600-tonne crane.
The finished project will be able to seat 12,000 people for events. Like its parent, the arena is another Norman Foster design and will takes its place on the banks of the Clyde right next to the SECC complex. The Hydro is expected to deliver 125 events a year and should be open this autumn.
Doyle said the 45m tall design is modelled on Greek and Roman amphitheatres. “The distinctive silver dome will stand higher than the neighbouring Armadillo,” he said.
The massive concrete fins of this elliptical venue will support an inclined 123m shallow domed roof.
Not that Glasgow is short of designer venues: the Zaha Hadid-designed Museum of Transport is nearby.
SECC recently celebrated its 25th anniversary and has welcomed over 28m visitors over the years. Last year the SECC welcomed 58,000 conference delegates out of a total of 1.2m visitors.
The complex has come a long way from the original ‘Red Sheds’ on the Clyde.
The Hydro will be followed by new hotels on site. The connectivity campaign is not confined to hotels and event halls; across the river sits Glasgow’s digital quarter,
a potential source of conference business.
SECC Sales and Marketing Director Ben Goedegebuure says the conference and events side of the SECC’s business is growing, with exhibitions now making
up just 22 per cent of total events business at the venue.
Partnerships are part of the new philosophy and one partner, Compass Group, has invested in the venue infrastructure.
Goedegebuure says Hall 4 is now running at 95 per cent occupancy, so a new arena was necessary.
“No city works like Glasgow,” says Goedegebuure, who is proud to have the Mayor on speed dial. “Everybody is callable,” he notes.
The new way of working includes working with industry associations and Goedegebuure is leading a major push to work with the Professional Convention Management Association, which held its Global Corporate Summit at the venue in July.
“We need to move away from just being a supplier,” he says, stressing partnerships are not about “just a bill at the end of an event”.
“We like to get to the heart of the marketing of an event,” says Goedegebuure. “Diabetes UK was an example of a big piece of business that was more than a conference, but a step leading to a healthier population.”
Project Ability is another programme reaching out to the community. SECC has provided gallery space for images and art produced by local artists’ with special needs.
Goedegebuure also finds time to chair Glasgow Service With Style, a campaign designed to raise service standards.
For large association events the GCMB promises a free welcome reception.
Other key investments include the £74m Riverside Museum which opened last June, and the National Indoor Sports Arena and Velodrome, which open later this year.
Some of the gems of the city worth considering for a range of events include: The Kelvingrove Art Gallery, the most visited attraction in the city, and the Botanical Gardens.
The House for an Art Lover at Bellahouston Park is a gem of a venue. Designed by Scottish architect Charles Renni Mackintosh, the House has three contemporary meeting rooms on the second floor for hire to 20 guests. The View occupies the third floor and can accommodate up to 40 for meetings or private dining, while the Mackintosh Suite can be used for corporate meetings and receptions up to 110.
Meanwhile, hotel Crieff Hydro, Scotland’s oldest registered company at 140 years, has seen a new lease of life thanks to a £40m investment. Crieff has 200 bedrooms and 30 function spaces, and is able to accommodate 600 delegates in the largest.
A rolling programme of a further £1m in investment per year will see the conference facilities extended.
Ali Craney looks after the teambuilding and fun-day options at Crieff and activities include a mini Highland Games and zip lines.
Because of the spa on site, it is easy to add massage tasters to any conference programme, she says.
The hotel’s Marketing Manager Geoff Morrison says Crieff Hydro is running at 88 per cent occupancy and has 1,500 health club members.
The design theme is also a big inspiration behind Dundee’s flagship development, the V&A at Dundee. The £45m building, the planners hope, will catapult the city into the premier league of business and leisure destinations.
The new V&A Museum at Dundee is expected to be a hub for design innovation and part of a wider £1bn Wateont redevelopment. The Master Plan for regeneration of Scotland’s fourth city is also one of the UK’s top 15 regional development projects currently underway.
The 30-year project aims to reconnect the wateont with the city and Mike Galloway, Director of City Development, said the investment was designed “to get Dundee on the radar”.
“It’s on a scale that’s really of national importance. The Scottish Government certainly recognise it as one that’s a game changer, not just for Dundee, not just for Tayside, but for Scotland as well,” Galloway.
V&A Project Director Philip Long hopes the new building will receive 500,000 visitors in its first year. It will be built to host events and have a five-star hotel next door. Completion date is set for 2015.
“We aim to be the best party venue in Scotland,” he said. And with offshore energy likely to provide plenty of meetings for Dundee, new meetings markets are out there.
Brave years for investing in Scotland’s meetings and business tourism infrastructure. A creative approach to bringing home the global association business, currently 23 per cent of all such conferences held in the UK.
This was first published in the August issue of Conference News. Any comments? Email conferencenews@mashmedia.net
