C&IT Festival of Forums panel session, SEC, Glasgow
Article Published 29/09/2022
The inaugural C&IT Festival of Forums took place in Glasgow between the 26 - 29 July at the SEC in Glasgow.
Our Business Development Managers for the UK, Theresa Steven and Emma Richards discuss the event and how the Business Events team helped to bring the forum to Scotland.
Tell us about VisitScotland's involvement in Festival of Forums
We have a very strong relationship with C&IT and regularly attend their events and forums and really enjoy attending them. We have wanted to bring one of the forums to Scotland for some time so when they mentioned that they were looking for a destination to host their inaugural Festival of Forums, which unites all of their forum events, we knew we need to bring that to Scotland.
We reached out to our convention bureaux colleagues across Scotland to discuss who would be available to host the event, including their recommendations for venues and presented this to C&IT. The team also liaised with our key regional partners to create three optional post-event FAM trips in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Perthshire for the buyers so that they could extend their stay and learn more about Scotland's offerings.
We were delighted when we found out that C&IT had selected Glasgow as the host destination and SEC as the venue.
Tell us about the post-event FAM trips
We worked closely with the convention bureaux in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Perthshire on the activities for the FAM trips, which we wanted to be educational, inspirational and of course showcase Scotland's incredible work.
The Aberdeen trip included a visit to P&J Live, the largest event complex in the north of Scotland, eco-facility Greyhope Bay Centre, a walking tour of the city, Maryculter House and Aberdeen Art Gallery.
Those joining the Edinburgh trip had the opportunity to visit to the EICC, Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian, The Royal Yacht Britannia, a walking tour around the city with Invisible Cities, a tour of Pollock Estate, The Scott Hotel, the Johnnie Walker Experience and a visit to the brand-new Virgin Hotels Edinburgh.
And the FAM trip to Perthshire involved a visit to Crieff Hydro, Aberfeldy, Highland hill-farm Errichel, Dewar's Aberfeldy Distillery, Highland Chocloatier, Perth Concert Hall and a visit to the city of Perth including the Perth Racecourse.
We had some incredible feedback from those who attended the FAM trips and who had the opportunity to explore a different side of Scotland.
What was the highlight of the event for you?
Sustainability was a key theme throughout the event, both from C&IT in the agenda of speakers and discussions. The SEC, which hosted the Festival of Forums, was chosen due to its fantastic sustainability credentials including its Sustainable Food Strategy and its SEC Net Zero 2030 ambition. This also echoed our Journey to Change messaging.
The agency leaders also got to spend time on a Bee-Safari on Loch Lomond ahead of the event, which provides an introduction into the world of bees and bee keeping and the buyers enjoyed a walking tour of Glasgow, both of which were kindly arranged by Glasgow Convention Bureau.
For us, to have so many industry colleagues come together again after the last couple of years to share knowledge and make new connections was amazing. Having everyone in Scotland to experience the country we love to talk about was the icing on the cake for me, it was the best feeling to be able to showcase Scotland again after all this time.