This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Top travel trade fair opens
21/04/2004
Scotland's biggest annual travel trade fair opens today
in Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.
VisitScotland Expo provides a platform for over 200
Scottish-based tourism businesses to showcase their
products and services to more than 1,000 potential buyers
from around the globe.
Tourism Minister Frank McAveety said:
"I'm delighted that Aberdeen is hosting Scottish
tourism's biggest business-to-business event.
"Scotland has much for the tourist - from stunning
scenery and a rich cultural heritage, to our history, our
art, our music and our people. VisitScotland Expo gives the
Scottish tourism industry a platform to demonstrate to
businesses from all over the world that they have the
skills to succeed in a competitive global market, and show
the very best of what we have to offer.
"Scotland's entrepreneurs are no more evident than in
the tourism industry and by working closely together and
playing to our strengths, we can make tourism one of
Scotland's biggest success stories."
Peter Lederer, Chairman of VisitScotland, added:
"As VisitScotland's flagship business to business
tourism event, Expo is a major date in the Scottish tourism
calendar which provides the industry the opportunity to
engage directly with a wide range of high quality domestic
and international buyers. "Scottish tourism is heading
firmly in the right direction and events such as Expo,
featuring some of the best products our country has to
offer, play an integral part in ensuring Scotland remains a
high quality, must visit, must return destination."
It is the first time since 1989 the show has been held
in Aberdeen which has one of only three venues in Scotland
able to host the show.
Tourism is one of Scotland's largest industries. It
employs 193,000 (8% of the workforce and 15% of the
Highlands & Islands workforce) and it injects £4
billion annually into the Scottish economy (5% GDP).