VisitScotland is launching a new travel trade platform which will enable Scottish businesses to connect with key buyers from around the globe regardless of the challenges of COVID-19.
Discover Scotland 2022 is a new event series, comprising an online business-to-business event with five regional showcases. Discover Scotland: Reconnect 2022 will take place virtually on 5-7 April 2022. The five regional showcases, known as Discover Scotland: Live Showcase, will then be held in May and September 2022. Together, these events will promote trade-ready Scottish tourism businesses to key international buyers on the ground in Scotland.
In 2022, it will replace the longstanding annual VisitScotland Expo with a new format designed to mitigate the challenges of the pandemic, build on the success of Scotland Reconnect 20/21 and welcome international buyers back to Scotland with regional showcases.
Discover Scotland 2022 will also support VisitScotland’s commitment to make the country a leading destination for responsible tourism by showcasing new and existing sustainable tourism products directly to key international and UK buyers.
As part of Tourism Declares, the national tourism organisation made a public declaration to play a leading role in the development of Scotland as a globally-recognised responsible destination. Since then, VisitScotland has been working with the Scottish tourism and events industry to create a long-lasting sustainable tourism destination which will protect the natural and cultural environment and benefit visitors and residents alike.
Discover Scotland 2022 allows VisitScotland to facilitate a cost-effective option for participating businesses and operators to connect, plan ahead and do business online and in person with buyers – and potentially explore the best of Scotland’s regional responsible tourism offering for themselves.
Malcolm Roughead, VisitScotland Chief Executive, said: “Discover Scotland 2022 offers an exciting new platform on which to showcase the best of Scotland’s tourism products, allowing businesses to stay connected with qualified buyers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have worked with tourism industry representatives to ensure that this travel trade programme of activity meets their needs in 2022 and ensures that connection to international buyers remains possible – it is something we are very much looking forward to delivering.
“We fully support the Scottish tourism industry and are committed to helping businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic by providing opportunities for them to network with tour operators and travel agents from all over the world, both online and on location.
“The challenges of the pandemic have given us the opportunity to reconsider the way we deliver events; Discover Scotland has been designed to meet the needs of the tourism industry in 2022 and ensure that connecting with buyers remains possible through a new programme of activity.
“Our international visitors are hugely important for Scottish tourism and we have continued to engage virtually with those markets throughout the pandemic, encouraging visitors to ‘dream now, travel later.”
Scotland Reconnect was held virtually in November 2020 and was successfully repeated in April 2021 as an effective alternative to live events during the pandemic. More than 7,000 pre-arranged business meetings took place over the three days in April.
In April 2022, VisitScotland anticipates virtual attendance from around 300 buyers from more than 20 markets and attendance by 300 Scottish suppliers.
For more information visit: www.visitscotland.com/discoverscotland
