Tourism businesses in the North-east are getting the chance to peek behind the scenes of the world’s largest travel site.

The head of destination management from TripAdvisor Justin Reid is speaking at the region’s annual tourism conference, organised by VisitAberdeenshire, in March.

Tourism supports 20,000 jobs in the North-east and with 280 contributions posted every minute on TripAdvisor, it is an important platform for businesses in the sector to master.

Founded in 2000, the website features 435milllion reviews from travellers and reaches 390million visitors on average every month.

Also speaking at the conference is Andy Mitchelmore from the Great Run Company which is behind the Great Aberdeen Run.

The first race in what is hoped to become an annual event is being held in August and Mr Mitchelmore is keen to highlight the potential benefits to business from the event and building from its existing national reputation.

There is a full day of presentations, networking and interactive planned at the conference, looking at how tourism businesses can make the most of the support on offer.

The event supports the region’s tourism strategy, in which the vision for 2020 and beyond is to make Aberdeen City and Shire a sustainable destination of choice, with skilled and passionate people delivering value for money and memorable customer experiences, by enhancing our region’s outstanding assets.

Steve Harris, chief executive of the region’s destination marketing organisation VisitAberdeenshire who are the organisers of the conference, said: “We are inviting all tourism businesses, or businesses with an interest in tourism, operating in the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire area, to come along.

“This annual conference focuses on the themes of opportunity and diversification within the North-east’s tourism economy and we will hear from key influencers, not only in the region but in the UK too.

“This is our chance to come together as a solid industry to drive forward our attractive tourism offering.”

The VisitAberdeenshire Tourism Conference is being held on Tuesday 21 March at Meldrum House Hotel, Oldmeldrum. More information is available at bit.ly/VAconference

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