VisitScotland Announces Cancellation of Expo
Attendee cancellations due to Coronavirus results in Scotland’s premier travel trade event not going ahead.
Due to a significant number of cancellations caused by Coronavirus (Covid-19) it is with regret that VisitScotland has decided to cancel this year’s VisitScotland Expo that was due to take place on 1 and 2 April at P&J Live in Aberdeen.
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “As a major international event, with over 2,000 attendees from around 30 countries, this decision was not taken lightly, as Expo was on course to be a great success at a brand new and exciting venue, so we are disappointed for all the buyers, exhibitors and staff.
“We have been monitoring the situation for some time but it is clear that we are already seeing significant cancellations from key countries, as well as concerned enquiries about the event and hesitancy from attendees to travel. With the number of cases of Coronavirus increasing across the world, we did not want to contribute to its potential spread across Scotland and beyond.
“We will continue to connect buyers and the tourism industry and are currently developing ideas about how we can use technology and digital channels to make those connections – but we won’t be able to physically run the event this year. We are already looking at how we can further support the tourism industry going forward and will continue to monitor the situation on a daily basis.
“We will make an announcement regarding next year’s Expo in the near future.”
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Scottish Tourism Alliance responds to cancellation of VisitScotland Expo 2020
The Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) fully supports VisitScotland’s difficult but sensible decision to cancel Expo 2020 and acknowledges how disappointing this is for all involved. The excellent team at VisitScotland will we know, with help of others be doing all that they can to support industry to minimise the impact of Expo not going ahead in the short term.
The STA will offer its full support to working closely with VisitScotland to ensure that business within Scotland’s tourism industry can connect to buyers through digital channels and establish the relationships that will be missed as a result of the cancellation of what is a key event to the sector.
In addition to the above, the STA and other invited key stakeholders within Scotland’s tourism industry will form a Scottish Tourism Emergency Response Group (STERG) whose priority will be to discuss and agree a best way forward to respond in a coordinated manner to the threats and problems which will result from the Coronavirus pandemic in Scotland. The STERG will convene for the first time on Tuesday.
