“There are other venues that might have more bedrooms and other convention centres that can hold bigger conferences but collectively, on one site, with accommodation and meeting facilities, we are the largest in Scotland now,” says Jess Atkinson, Director of Sales – North of Scotland, for Macdonald Hotels & Resorts.
She is talking about an £8million investment programme at one of the company’s flagship hotels in Aviemore, which has successfully bid to host the next UKinbound annual convention in February, the premier conference and networking event for business tourism operators in the UK.
It hasn’t been held in Scotland before in its current format and it has been a least 10 years since such a gathering has taken place in Scotland.
So it’s an opportunity to showcase the hotel’s revamp – which has seen £5million invested in refurbishing bedrooms – with the remainder spent on upgrading conference and meeting room and leisure facilities.
Two of the three-star hotels have become four-star as a result of the recently completed facelift, which Jess says proved vital in persuading UKinbound – the trade association for inbound tourism – and its members, of whom 250 are expected at the two-day convention in the Highlands, from February 10 to 12.
“The convention is the main event of the year – it’s huge. It’s amazing to showcase the Highlands of Scotland to all the industry leaders and it gives such a strong and positive message that Scotland is open for business.”
Jess, who returned to work for the hotel group earlier this year, was behind the bid to host UKinbound, and she is keen to stress that the investment programme was the clinching factor.
“It was quite a rigorous procedure with all the facts and figures; I put together the documents and all the supporting evidence but really the main factor for Aviemore was that we could have everyone staying on one site rather than spread out through various hotels.”
The programme will include plenary sessions with keynote speakers, networking opportunities, a major B2B workshop and will be rounded off with a black-tie gala dinner, at which the Association’s annual Awards for Excellence will be announced. UKinbound’s chief executive officer, Deirdre Wells OBE, added: “So far, it has been a year of significant development for us in Scotland, as we deepen our relationship with and support for the Scottish tourism industry. Scotland has an exceptional offer for the inbound visitor and we look forward to working with the industry to grow its share of this valuable market.”
As well as upgraded bedrooms, there is also a new children’s activity centre, and the Spey Valley golf course’s club house, which is part of the hotel’s offering, has been given a makeover.
The Scottish Government also supported the bid through the National Conference Bid Fund, managed by VisitScotland.
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