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Benefits of ancestral tourism to be uncovered at workshop

Aberdeen and North East Scotland Ancestral Tourism Partnership (ANESATP) will host a free all day workshop on ancestral tourism on Thursday 15 March 2012 at the Kintore Arms Hotel, Inverurie.

The workshop is aimed at stakeholders across the tourism sector that will see this as an exciting opportunity to enhance their business profile and look for opportunities to work with ANESATP, by raising awareness of the economic potential of ancestral tourism for the North-east of Scotland. It is also aimed at establishing further partnerships for future joint working.

Guest speakers for the event include author and broadcaster Nick Barratt from BBC TV’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” and Gillian Swan, ancestral marketing manager from Visit Scotland and will also include local case study presentations.

Statistics show that globally there are 50 million people of Scottish descent and that ancestral tourists spend more and stay longer than other tourists. The most recent figures collated by VisitScotland show that approximately 100,000 visits annually are motivated by ancestry and that these generated approximately £75m to Scotland’s economy each year.

Aberdeenshire Council's Head of Economic Development, Belinda Miller, said: "This is a great opportunity for businesses involved in the tourism industry to discover how promoting ancestral tourism can boost their business.

"With such fantastic ancestral records available in our area I would encourage any interested business to attend this free workshop."

Phil Astley, City Archivist and Chairman of ANESATP added: "With the second Year of Homecoming in 2014 only two years away, the workshop presents a fantastic opportunity to build partnerships to ensure the full economic potential of ancestral tourism can be realised for the North-east of Scotland."

For further information on the workshop please email info@northeastscotlandroots.com or telephone [01224] 522116. To register for the event visit www.northeastscotlandroots.com

This event is supported by the European Regional Development Fund.

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