VisitScotland chief executive Malcolm Roughead met with Robert Gordon University’s (RGU) leading tourism experts, staff and students as part of a special Listening Tour.
Organised by the national tourism organisation, the Listening Tour stopped by RGU to hear from Andrew Martin, the director of Scottish Centre of Tourism at RGU, as well as future tourism leaders across the region and spoke directly to emerging talent in the industry.
Andrew led an informal discussion on the national tourism strategy, the strength of Tourism regionally and the need for authenticity and localised content going forward.
He said: “Tourism is Scotland’s largest industry and Malcolm discussed with the group of RGU staff and students how VisitScotland is partnering with others, including TripAdvisor, to deliver innovative marketing initiatives.
“The group acknowledged that Aberdeen and North East of Scotland is now looking to Tourism as a major generator of economic growth, and is well placed to exploit the window of opportunity provided by competitive priced accommodation in the mid-week.”
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “Tourism is leading economic transformation in Aberdeen City and Shire, with a number of large multi-million pound investment developments currently in the pipeline, including the new Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, the redevelopment of Aberdeen Art Gallery and transformation of Aberdeen Music Hall.
“It was fantastic to be able to meet with both staff and tourism students at RGU and to hear their aspirations and opinions on the tourism product offered by Aberdeen and the north east.
“These are the next generation of potential tourism employees and in a constantly changing-world, it is always encouraging to hear their ideas and to speak to them about how we can best adapt to these changes.”