VisitScotland shares engagement event success

April 26, 2022 at 11:16 am

The Ring of Brodgar is one of many historic sites which attract tourists to Orkney.

VisitScotland has hailed the success of an engagement event, which allowed Orkney businesses to reconnect with tour operators, travel advisors and destination management companies representing key global markets.

Discover Scotland: Reconnect 2022 is part of VisitScotland’s efforts to rebuild international tourism demand, as well as supporting the country’s ambitions to be a leading destination for responsible tourism. 

In total, 324 Scottish businesses engaged with 298 international tour operators and travel agents from 21 global markets at the three-day online event earlier this month, including Destination Orkney, Pentland Ferries, Orkney Distilling Limited, NorthLink Ferries and the Kirkwall Hotel.

In all, 4,455 meetings were facilitated on the virtual platform through one-to-one meetings, highlighting the best of Scotland’s responsible tourism products. 

Cheryl Chapman, VisitScotland’s development manager for Orkney, said: “Domestic visitors have been driving the recovery following the impact of COVID-19, but the return of our international visitors is a major step towards the responsible recovery of Scottish tourism.  

“Discover Scotland 2022 enables tourism businesses from Orkney to connect with key buyers from around the globe to help attract visitors, from near and far, to help rebuild our valuable tourism industry.

“As well as the economic benefits of engaging with global markets, Discover Scotland was a hugely enjoyable week in terms of reconnecting with colleagues and customers from around the world. We look forward to sharing our stunning landscapes, history, culture and warm welcome with visitors this summer and beyond.” 

Lee Payne, membership development manager at Destination Orkney, added: “We found the event provided us with an invaluable opportunity to meet with the travel trade, and the chance to promote Orkney as a fantastic destination for international and UK travellers alike.

“We met with over 40 buyers from across the globe – the majority we would consider positive leads. Since follow up, we have already received positive feedback from a number of prospective buyers and arrangements are being made for them to visit us later in the year, in preparation for the 2023 season.”