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This Conference will bring together everyone interested in the development of agritourism in Scotland.

It will be a great chance to get together, network and build relationships.

The conference is set to welcome:

Both members of Scottish Agritourism and non-members are welcome. Anyone booking with a non-members ticket who decides to join Scottish Agritourism before or during the Conference will have the difference in their ticket money refunded.

Highlights will include:

For more information on the Scottish Agritourism Conference

Sustainability Insights Live: Is it possible to balance growth with sustainable tourism?

Hosted by the School of Social & Environmental Sustainability, University of Glasgow, this live in-conversation event will delve into the complex issue of overtourism in Scotland, the UK, and Europe, and the shift towards sustainable tourism models. A panel of experts will provide different perspectives on how to balance tourism growth with environmental and social sustainability, discussing both theoretical questions and practical solutions. Discover the role tourists can play in promoting sustainability, and the challenges this presents for growth.

The expert panel includes:

Dr Anna de Jong : Senior Lecturer in Tourism at the University of Glasgow, and Director of Research within the School of Social & Environmental Sustainability.

Professor Sandro Carnicelli : Professor of Tourism and Leisure Studies and the Deputy Director of the Centre for Culture, Sport, and Events (CCSE) at the University of the West of Scotland.

Lesley Judge: Strategic Programmes Executive at Interface with over two decades experience in working within the tourism sector, works with organisations to build strategic partnerships between industry and academia, and help organisations to innovate.

Amy McCreadie Outreach and External Engagement Co-ordinator for the School of Social & Environmental Sustainability will moderate the event which will take place at the University of Glasgow’s Dumfries Campus.

Learn more and register


Join ASVA, (Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions) on 14th November at Perth Concert Hall for their annual conference – a day packed with insights, advice and unparalleled networking opportunities bringing together leading voices and experts from within the visitor attractions and wider tourism sector to share best practices, explore innovative approaches in technology, sustainability, and community engagement. Dive into topics like collaboration, inclusion, and accessibility, enhancing your knowledge and helping you navigate the challenges and opportunities in today’s dynamic tourism landscape.

The agenda features speaker presentations, panel sessions and ample opportunities to catch up with colleagues and forge new connections. The day will conclude with an evening drinks reception, offering a perfect setting to unwind after a long season.

Learn more and register

Redefining hospitality through a culture of innovation, sustainability and embracing diversity, equality and inclusion

Background

Glen Mhor, a hospitality business based in Inverness, is committed to redefining hospitality by fostering a culture of sustainability, green energy innovation, improved mental health and wellbeing, and embracing diversity, equality, and inclusion.
In 2006, Jon and Victoria Erasmus bought the Glen Mhor Hotel, and have since expanded by purchasing neighbouring buildings converting them into hotel accommodation and apartments. They have also built a low carbon Brewery and Distillery within the grounds of the hotel.
In 2022, they opened their river water source energy centre to decarbonise the hotel’s heating and hot water system. Through the construction of groundwater boreholes and the use of water source heat pumps, there is only one building left to connect in 2024 to see the business entirely gas free. This water source energy centre is the first of its kind in Scotland.
Their mission is to provide an exceptional guest experience whilst leaving a positive impact on the planet and community.

Challenges

Jon and Victoria were keen to explore two distinct areas of their business which they recognised would require external expertise.
The first, to develop a robust, evidence-based methodology for assessing and monitoring the new water source energy centre. As this is the first of its kind there is no data available to study the usage and contrast of how this compares from the old gas systems.
The second challenge focussed on their workforce and the adoption and integration of new workforce processes and practices to enable inclusive workforce onboarding and practices to support neurodiverse staff.

Solution – energy centre

Interface connected Glen Mhor to the School of Engineering, Computing and the Built Environment at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) who have expertise in the area of energy management, carbon assessment and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Professor Jim Baird undertook a detailed assessment of the metered energy systems and costs to develop an economic model for the hotel. The system analysis will also determine the amount of carbon emissions saved through the implementation of the energy centre.
This project was funded through a Standard Innovation Voucher designed to support the development of a new product, process, or service for a company.

Solution – workforce

Interface identified expertise at Edinburgh College from lecturer LizAnn Francis and Student Services Officer Rachel Robinson. Through this partnership, Glen Mhor and Edinburgh College devised a new recruitment policy and inclusive job advert template – both of which prioritise inclusivity, offering a sensory-friendly experience from application to employment.
This project was funded through a Workplace Innovation Voucher designed to develop a company’s internal workforce, including new or enhanced workplace processes, innovative workplace practices, or innovative business expertise.

Business Benefits

University and College Benefits

The South of Scotland Destination Alliance Conference is the key annual gathering for tourism and hospitality in the South of Scotland.

The 2024 Conference will hold special significance as it will officially launch, and bring alive, the South of Scotland Responsible Tourism Strategy, which will underpin all work, by all agencies, over the coming decade 2024-2034.

Hear from Richard Lochead, Minister for Innovation, Tourism & Trade and inspirational speaker Bruce Fummey, Scottish comedian, tour guide and Burns aficionado.

The conference will explore through facilitated small group sessions and breakouts the four strands of the Responsibile Tourism Strategy to inspire visitors to come to the South of Scotland, to develop the visitor experience with a focus on quality, to support businesses to succeed and act responsibly for long term collective benefit.

For more information and to book your tickets go here.

Join Visit Moray Speyside for the first collaboration event with Moray Climate Action Network [Moray CAN] to hear from speakers about sustainable tourism.

This event aims to highlight the significance of sustainable tourism practices, shedding light on how collective efforts can contribute to preserving the beauty of Moray.

The event will feature The Cabrach Trust, Duffus Estate, Threaplands Garden Centre, InKeith and Strathisla and WDC Scottish Dolphin Centre who are all dedicated to being a sustainable business/organisation. Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of the conversation and learn how you can contribute to responsible tourism while enjoying the best that Moray has to offer.

Book Now

This event is delivered in partnership with the National Trust for Scotland and it is aimed at businesses and organisations within the Highland and Islands tourism sector only.

Join this interactive day-event focussed on the critical issues and opportunities shaping the landscape of the Highland & Islands Tourism sector.

Hear real stories from peers, on staff retention, attraction and innovation. With a mix of case studies, panel discussion and workshops we will touch on topics that will help your business to stay competitive.

Don’t miss the chance to be part of a solution-focused conversation, and join a day of learning, inspiration and networking.

Agenda of the event and speakers will be announced soon.

Register

Background

Therme Group is an industry leader in the wellbeing sector with multiple major water-based wellbeing facilities throughout Europe with new facilities in the UK and Canada under construction.

Therme’s guiding philosophy is “Wellbeing for all” which delivers a holistic approach to wellbeing and includes a social outreach dimension to make the facilities available to all of the community in the city regions where they have sites. This holistic approach encompasses the aesthetics and design of the built environment, the impact of the water based, and other wellbeing treatments offered and extends to nutrition and the sources of food offered on site.

Therme UK has plans to open a major new £125M facility on the Clyde serving as the regional centre in Scotland to deliver Therme UK’s 90:90 UK access strategy. This seeks to position Therme facilities such that 90% of the UK population are within 90 minutes’ drive of a Therme facility.

The Challenge

Therme Group have five main guiding principles and areas of focus around which they build their business model and facilities. These are Health, Equity, Security, Learning and Environment. In each case they are interested in strategic research partners that can help Therme as a group deliver improved operational delivery, minimise environmental impact and ultimately improve customer experience.

They have developed subject specific strategic research & development (R&D) relationships with the University of Florence for the built environment and in Scotland they have supported research activity in the University of Glasgow and James Hutton Institute (Dundee) developing frameworks of wellbeing and food technology respectively.

The collaboration facilitated by Interface came about from the combination of a planned major facility in Glasgow and the recognition of the strength in the University of Glasgow in four key areas of research, Wellbeing Research, Informing Policy, Wellbeing Technology and Environmental Technology directly relevant to Therme’s long term needs. This led to a feasibility study, supported by Interface, which provided an evidence base for exploring the creation of a global Centre of Wellbeing Research Excellence (WellEX) in Glasgow.

The Solution

Interface made initial introduction and discussions between Therme Group and the University of Glasgow who successfully applied to the Inward investment Catalyst Fund to support a WellEX feasibility.

The basis of the feasibility study was to raise awareness of the opportunity and develop connections between senior management at the Therme Group responsible for Innovation and the relevant Business, Social Science, Health and Technology academics and departments within the University. In particular, the feasibility exercise and subsequent discussions identified four areas of future collaboration where Therme’s interests and the University of Glasgow’s expertise aligned.

These included:

Wellbeing innovations: Therme Group is primarily interested in understanding how wellbeing improvement can be brought about for individuals and populations, and the broader benefits of wellbeing on society, the economy, and the environment through evidence-based research.

Informing policy: Through close collaboration with the local government and communities, the research conducted by WellEX is expected to support the work of the University of Glasgow to explore, validate, and inform wellbeing strategies and policies at the local and national levels, working to understand the complexity of policy intervention.

Wellbeing technology: To explore, develop and test “wellbeing technology” focused on improving the effects of wellbeing innovations and users’ experience within and outside Therme Group sites.

Sustainability practices: To explore and validate sustainability practices for Therme wellbeing activities and facilities to leverage renewable energy sources and reduce carbon emissions.

The feasibility study validated the concept of a Global Centre of Excellence, providing an evidence base for a Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) funding application in 2022 and ongoing funding applications.

The findings showed that the University of Glasgow was well placed to both anchor and act as an international R&D hub for Therme’s aspirations to develop a world-class centre of excellence in wellbeing. The planned development of a major new facility in Glasgow, serving the Scottish population catchment area, offers a unique opportunity to create such a WellEX and capture the significant research, societal and economic benefits this would bring to Scotland.

The University of Glasgow are commited to developing this proposition further and presenting a full business case for consideration by Therme Group, the University, and strategic partners such as Glasgow City Council and Scottish Government agencies, including Scottish Funding Council (SFC), Scottish Development International (SDI), and Scottish Enterprise (SE).

The Benefits

This project benefitted from the Scottish Inward Investment Catalyst Fund. The Scottish Inward Investment Catalyst Fund launched by Interface and the Scottish Government promotes Scotland as a leading destination for inward investment and supports businesses not yet located in Scotland but seeking to establish stronger ties with academia here. As well as funding research and development it provides an opportunity for the company to establish relationships and give insight into other aspects of the Scottish landscape, such as further investment opportunities, supply chains and the skills base to strengthen the case for investing in Scotland.

Background

Smartify is a tech company originally based out of London.  It has developed an online platform serving the arts, culture and heritage sector, connecting destinations with their visitors. It provides cultural institutions with cutting-edge digital capabilities to manage the visitor experience; and at the same time, it acts as a platform to help them reach a broader audience. Smartify currently has a reach of over 4 million users as of June 2023.

The Challenge

Smartify was looking to develop its XR (Extended Reality) infrastructure to allow the company to develop experiences which could be easily scaled in a cost-effective manner and across multiple platforms (iOS, Android and Web).  Smartify were needing to develop a novel XR platform to be integrated within the Smartify app. They were looking for academic expertise in AR/VR/XR but also an understanding of the tourism and heritage sector.

The Solution

Smartify were already an active member of the Travel Tech for Scotland (TTfS) community with a strong customer base including Scottish National Galleries, Kelvingrove, National Museums of Scotland, Blair Castle, Highlife Highland, and National Trust for Scotland. 

Lesley Judge of TTfS referred Smartify to Interface who made them aware of the *Inward Investment Catalyst Fund. Through Interface’s search and matchmaking services, Smartify were introduced to Dr Marco Gilardi from the Division of Computing at the University of the West of Scotland, who has a wealth of experience in AR/VR/XR and has been part of an academic group providing knowledge exchange on this subject for the tourism and heritage sector. 

The project aimed to support the company in developing XR applications using web technologies and, in the process, help them develop their market presence in Scotland. The objective of the project was to develop proof of concepts and test them with the market which was achieved successfully with a commercial project delivered as result. 

*The Inward Investment Catalyst Fund has been set up by Interface and the Scottish Government to attract and support businesses, not yet located in Scotland to collaborate with academic institutions on their research and development activity to strengthen the case for developing a base in Scotland. 

The Benefits

For the Company

For the University

For Scotland