The Business Events market is expected to be worth an estimated £27.6billion to the UK economy by 2026, according to research by Tourism Economics.
Data from VisitBritain indicates that for every international conference hosted in Scotland, each delegate will contribute an estimated £1,021 to the local economy, and for every national conference, each delegate will bring an estimated £448. So, an international conference with 1,000 delegates could provide a million pound plus boost to the economy of the Aberdeen city region.
Most conferences in the UK, Europe and beyond, attract competition among cities to host the event. To successfully secure business events for the region, Aberdeen goes through a competitive bidding process, responding to the clients’ requirements and presenting a strong case for Aberdeen. The reality of course is that there can only be one winner, but sometimes, simply bidding puts the city in a stronger position to secure a win in the future.
Aberdeen has fantastic meetings infrastructure including a world class venue at P&J Live. There is also a large pool of talent in academia and industry, and this is a critical factor to secure events. Bringing together the infrastructure and the talent improves our chances of winning. The Aberdeen Convention Bureau, part of VisitAberdeenshire, relaunched the Aberdeen Ambassador Network earlier this year with the aim of bringing together the talent in Aberdeen, from academics, business professionals to venue leaders, to work in a team to identify and win business events to Aberdeen. It has been estimated that Aberdeen Ambassadors have helped to win events worth £2million to the local economy in 2022 and counting. Ambassadors play a key role in identifying conferences which could potentially be hosted in the city and applying influence on decision makers. The practical role of each ambassador will vary depending on their involvement, from leading a bid for an event to come to Aberdeen to simply writing a letter of support. Regardless of their role, theirs is an essential part of the bidding process.
Do you have an academic conference or international meeting that you wish to bring to Aberdeen, or are you interested in supporting in other ways? Please get in touch with us and we would be more than happy to discuss how the Aberdeen Convention Bureau can help - businessevents@visitabdn.com