Responsible tourism is top priority at North Highland Initiative conference near Inverness
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MORE than 160 delegates are set to attend the area's largest tourism conference to date.
Titled Responsible Tourism – What Does It Mean For Your Business?, the event will be held on October 30 at Achnagairn Estate near Inverness.
It will provide an opportunity for business owners and public sector professionals to exchange experiences, views and ideas, and to discuss the opportunities created by the success of the North Coast 500 (NC500) tourism route.
The North Highland Initiative, which developed the NC500 concept, has partnered with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) to deliver the conference, which will include talks, presentations and networking opportunities.
The conference will open with a presentation by Professor John Lennon, director of the Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism Business Development at Glasgow Caledonian University, who will discuss the findings of his official NC500 evaluation report which revealed it generated more than £22.89 million in gross value added last year.
Other speakers will include Councillor Carolyn Wilson, who will discuss the Cromarty Firth ward and how the area has adapted to the tourist market, and North Highland Initiative chairman David Whiteford, who will unveil the company’s new vision for responsible tourism throughout the region.
Mr Whiteford said: “Economic growth and business development throughout the north Highland region are top priorities for the North Highland Initiative. The North Coast 500 route has been phenomenally successful in promoting the area as a whole, and has played an enormous role in boosting investment in the area, to the tune of more than £22 million in 2018 alone.
“Looking ahead to 2020, our focus must now centre not only on identifying further opportunities for businesses to benefit from this economic boost, but also on responsible tourism and ways in which we can support north Highland communities in order to ensure that tourism growth is sustainable.
“Our autumn conference is an opportunity for businesses throughout the north Highlands to work together – to meet for one day, but ultimately to strengthen collaborations for weeks and months to come.”
Tanja Lister, FSB Highlands and Islands area leader and director of the Kylesku Hotel, said: “It is hard to think of an industry where businesses are more interdependent than tourism. While healthy competition between local businesses should always exist, it is much more important that we all work together to keep our customers happy, contributing positively to the north Highlands’ reputation as a great place to holiday in the process. We really are all in it together and co-operation and collaboration are essential.
“For most of the year our business-owner noses are pressed to the grindstone, with little time to think about anything but the here and now, and I believe passionately that conferences like these have a vital role to play in raising our game. Time out sharing experiences and discussing how we can improve as individuals and by working together is time well spent.
“This conference is about helping ourselves, each other, and our great area do even better, and I hope that as many business owners as possible will attend.”
