Call for New Businesses to Join the Big Names of Perthshire Tourism

A group of Perthshire’s key venues and events businesses have called for local firms of all sizes to join a soon-to-be relaunched tourism group.

Consisting of established hotels and events businesses including; Gleneagles, Hilton Dunkeld, Birnam Arts and Conference Centre and Blue Sky Events – the Perthshire Business Tourism Group (PBTG) is being formally relaunched as part of a wider drive to encourage more business tourism to Perthshire.

Now firms are being encouraged to join in a bid to widen the group – which will directly target the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) markets.

The group, which will officially relaunch on February 9th at the Hilton Dunkeld, is being reinvigorated with additional support from VisitScotland and Perth & Kinross Council, where it will be closely linked to the aims of the wider Perth City Plan.

Michaela Ruff, Conference and Event Manager at Perth Concert Hall, said: “The Business Tourism Group gives members of all sizes easily affordable access to marketing opportunities on a large scale.

“It is a fantastic method of promoting the area to a wider audience – with a positive spin-off being that the businesses involved tend to develop a closer affiliation with each other.”

Councillor John Kellas, Convener of Enterprise and Infrastructure Committee at Perth and Kinross Council, believes it is important that the region builds its reputation in the sector, following successes in 2015 at the hugely influential Showcasing Scotland and the UK Craft Distillers Conference, which were held at Gleneagles and Atholl Palace respectively.

Coucillor Kellas, said: “This really is a great opportunity for any local business that has something to offer visitors in the MICE market.

“To be able to join the biggest local names in the industry as part of a unified marketing campaign is hugely valuable, both in terms of promoting that business to a new, wider market – as well as an opportunity to strike a close working relationship with the other PBTG firms.”

At a cost of £500 members will benefit from the opportunity of attendance and professional representation at key events. In the past this has tended to be domestically focused, however international events in partnership with VisitScotland are currently being considered.

New members will benefit from presence on the new PBTG website and will feature in targeted newsletters – which currently go to over 700 profiled conference buyers around the globe.

Further to this, collaborative PR campaigns, networking and the opportunity to devise new joint programmes and packages all become possible to a group member.

More information on Invest in Perth can be found www.investinperth.co.uk/