Can you believe it’s almost summer? There is no doubt it’s been a (another) whirlwind of a year so far, and as industries begin to unlock, there’s lots of reflect on and to look forward to. We invite you to bring your favourite tipple and join Women in Tourism for a School’s Out Social on Wednesday 23 June, at 4.45pm: our last WIT Wednesday before the schools break up. Read more
Introducing Amanda Brown, one of Women in Tourism’s newest members. Like many across the industry, Amanda, in her role of UK Sales Director for Sodexo Sports and Leisure has been on ‘pause’ for the last year. In the latest ‘Women to Write Home About’ blog, Amanda shares her career progression, how she has adapted during COVID, and how living life as a ‘WILLIE’ has changed for the better.
Join us for a Women in Tourism virtual event on Wednesday 5th May at 4.30pm. On the back of Scottish and British lockdown measures easing sufficiently to allow our tourism and hospitality venues to reopen at the end of April we have gathered some excellent speakers who are willing to share their experiences.
Challenges we all thought would be past in the summer of 2020 are still with this sector as we come out of another lengthy period of closure and attempt to plan for a profitable and engaging season with ever shifting guidance and best practice standards. Many venues which opened in 2020 managed with; an impressive reduction in expenses by postponing capital expenditure, adjusted to COVID measures in relatively temporary ways under the expectation they would be short lived, and often altered the visitor experience by removing normal elements that were not able to be offered safely.
A whole year later, will our potential guests and visitors still be enthusiastic about this reduced offer? Have the measures introduced been so successful that they are being made permanent? Is a new level of innovation and product development required now that we are retargeting our local areas again, given the lack of international travel?
Caroline Robertson from VisitScotland will share the official reopening strategy of Visit Scotland in the Highlands and highlight the tools developed by VisitScotland that may assist our businesses in reopening.
Lisa Robshaw, Head of Marketing and Sales at The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) will share information on the reopening of both Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park. In particular Lisa can share experience of being open in 2021, as the zoo was permitted to welcome guests from March, and the different challenges faced by a city central location and a regional site in the Cairngorms.
Moira Unwin¸ of The Sonas Collection, a group of three stylish boutique hotels on the Isle of Skye, will share the preparation and developments made by their sites to welcome visitor back in a COVID safe manner, while maintaining the outstanding quality of visitor experience they are known for, particularly looking at the difference between opening in 2020 versus the plan for this season.
WIT Board Member, Julie Grieve, will also share some more information about how WIT can assist our members individually or as a business through our Mentoring Programme. There will be time after the speakers for some questions and general discussion.
CLICK HERE to register your attendance. A zoom link will be sent to all registrants nearer the event. We look forward to seeing you on screen!
This year’s International Women’s Day theme is ‘Choose to Challenge’. It’s a call to action which we should embrace, not just for one day, but throughout 2021. While the premise of the theme is to call out and challenge inequality; Women in Tourism have interpreted the theme as a way in which we can all embrace challenges. Read more
If you missed our first WIT Wednesday of 2021, which took place on Wednesday 24 February, then read on for how to catch up on the video recap, and find out how to connect with our event speakers. Read more
Women in Tourism are looking forward to a new series of WIT Wednesdays for 2021, with plenty of opportunities for you to get involved in shaping, hosting and participating in our online events this year. Read more
In these strange times, it feels more important than ever to celebrate innovation, hard work and success, so we were thrilled to hear that the Business Women Scotland Women in Business Awards are going virtual in November 2020. In their sixth year, the awards mark achievements of the growing number of women-led businesses and recognise the entrepreneurial talents of women across Scotland. Read more
Women in Tourism welcome applications from members who would like to take advantage of WIT’s initiative of 60 minutes of mentoring. Read more
We are delighted to bring three Women in Tourism members together for this WIT Wednesday, focusing on food and drink. We shall hear how the sector has been impacted by Covid-19, and how the respective businesses and organisations have responded to the challenges involved. Read more
Check out the industry concerns, reflections and helpful resources shared in the first virtual WIT Wednesday held on 1 April 2020. Read more