Scottish Events Industry Expo To Be Held In March
Scotland’s first events industry expo for several years is due to be held in March 2016 following the launch of a new national events strategy.
EventIt aims to become an annual showcase for suppliers and buyers who work in the £3.5billion Scottish events and festivals industry.
The show takes place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on the 18th of March and will be part of the Scottish Tourism Week signature programme.
It has been created by professional conference organiser Judith Wilson, of JMD Events, who has got the backing of the industry and EventScotland to host the first national expo since 2011.
She said: “As a professional conference organiser I have found it frustrating over the years that we never seem to be able to get round to organising our own event. I think it’s of vital importance that people who organise events – whether it’s a small, community-based show, to a large international festival – have a marketplace to visit to check out all the latest offerings from new venues, to catering, to AV.
“We have a very mature industry in Scotland but I think we do need to push ourselves to make sure we are competing on the world stage. An annual events expo will hopefully focus minds, allow the right people to get together who can then go off and help Scotland become a destination of choice.”
The principle objective of EventIt is to bring the events sector together under one roof and match up the industry’s supply chain with corporate event planners, venue bookers, DMC’s, PCO’s and a wide range of decision-makers from the public, third and private sectors.
Doors opens on Thursday evening with the Scottish Tourism Alliance Parliamentary drinks reception and dinner within the EventIt exhibition area, culminating on Friday evening with the annual Scottish Thistle Awards.
In addition, Judith has worked with Edinburgh-based publishers Canongate Communications to produce Scotland’s first dedicated events industry magazine. EventsBase, a quarterly magazine distributed to events industry professionals in Scotland, was launched in November.
Coinciding with Scottish Tourism Week’s Signature Programme, exhibitors will also benefit from the footfall of delegates at the National Tourism conference who will network during their breaks within the exhibition.