Can Aberdeenshire be the next big international mountain bike destination?
Hosted by Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland (DMBinS) the workshop is for any tourism business looking to service the needs of the growing mountain bike market. The workshop will explain the market, detail short and long term opportunities and highlight international best practice from Zermatt, Switzerland.
‘MTB Aberdeenshire – are you ready to ride?’ will take place at The Barn, Burn O Bennie, Banchory AB31 5QA on Tuesday, June 19, from 1-4.
Mountain biking is now worth £257m of sales to the Scottish economy annually. Tourism has been identified as a key area for growth with the expected annual sales expected to increase from £90m to £117m by 2025. Aberdeenshire has been identified as a strategic location to help achieve these impressive growth figures.
Chris Foy, CEO of VisitAberdeenshire - who will be presenting at the workshop, said: “We have launched our new strategy for tourism growth in Aberdeenshire and we recognise that mountain biking is one of our key competitive strengths and opportunity for ‘the Great Outdoors’. We welcome all businesses to learn about the sector and grasp the opportunities which mountain biking will present over the next few years.”
Adrien Greiner, from BikePlan Swizerland, who are an exemplar of good practice in mountain bike destination planning will be presenting at the tourism workshop on how they developed Zermatt as a bike destination involving all key stakeholders.
We are also delighted to have Frazer Coupland from No Fuss Events, one of Scotland’s largest mountain bike event organisers, attending to share his expertise in making the most of mountain bike events.
Delegates will also learn about the exciting plans to develop a regional level adventure centre, including bike park, by North East Trail Centre Organisation (NETCO).
We strongly encourage all local service providers especially accommodation providers to sign up and get involved.
Will Clarke, the new Aberdeenshire Mountain Bike Coordinator said:“This is a fantastic free event which will enable local service providers to understand the mountain bike market. Businesses will then be able to analyse and improve the offer they provide to mountain bikers visiting the area. There are a lot of exciting changes ahead for Aberdeenshire and the time is right to make sure our local businesses make the most of these opportunities. Having the expertise of Adrien Greiner from Bike Plan Switzerland with such a huge pool of knowledge in this area will be invaluable to local service providers. I look forward to meeting businesses in the area and I am looking forward to working with them to help this area really reach its potential”
To sign up for this free event please register here.