Tourism chiefs want to build a new 1,000-seat conference centre in Dundee to capitalise on the lucrative business meetings market.
Dundee & Angus Convention Bureau has launched a 10-year action plan to bolster the sector locally, and a key to its long-term vision was the establishment of a new state-of-the-art conference venue.
The bureau said the current average attendance at seminars in the area was 300, but the city was missing out on hosting larger conferences due to a lack of plenary and exhibition facilities and wider breakout space.
The organisation said in order to achieve continued growth a new 1,000-capacity venue was required. Such a facility would give Dundee a chance to compete with Scotland’s other major conference venues in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen for large-scale events.
The DACB strategy said the establishment of the V&A design museum at the waterfront, along with other redevelopment works, would enhance the city’s profile and attractiveness as a conference venue.
“The V&A will play a key role in securing future bids and, as a result, encourage and continue to attract new investment in meetings venues and accommodation,” the report states.
“The V&A at Dundee will positively influence future bids and inward investment and will play an enormous role in supporting business tourism by hosting small meetings, receptions and dinners etcetera.
“It is important to note, however, that it is not a conference centre equipped with the required capacity and functionality to host conferences of 500+, which is much needed in Dundee.”
More than 230,000 delegates travelled to Dundee and Angus last year to attend conferences with a direct economic impact of £55 million.
For Scotland as a whole, it is estimated the business tourism sector generated direct revenues of £826m last year.
DACB said it expected the implementation of key recommendations of its action plan would help safeguard or create up to 700 jobs over the next five years.
The timescale for the convention centre plan, which would likely need public and private sector investment to get off the ground, is anything up to 10 years.
DACB business tourism manager Karen Tocher said: “Building a successful meetings sector will create jobs and income for the destination.
“To make the most of the benefits that this can bring, it’s essential that new venues and facilities are developed within the Dundee and Angus area.
“Dundee & Angus Convention Bureau has two strategic objectives: to enable growth in the volume and value of business tourism, and to enhance the competitiveness of Dundee and Angus as a business tourism destination.
“Our new strategy lays out how we will achieve this by promoting the destination to the UK and international meetings market.
“By supporting the universities, institutions and research establishments and improving the facilities and services in the area we can help to create and submit bids to secure meetings from across the globe.”
Ms Tocher said having the right facilities in place and ensuring cross-industry collaboration was vital for long-term success.
“Through our strategy we aim to achieve continued growth by encouraging the development of a conference centre that could host 500-1,000 delegates, and by working closely with city businesses and universities to target key markets.
“By doing this it will allow us to tap-in to the additional 23% of the total global market which Dundee cannot regularly cater for with its current facilities.
“Some of the most successful conference cities across the world have a shared vision between venues, hotels and public agencies. Glasgow, Edinburgh, Barcelona, Vienna, Boston and Singapore have huge success in the business tourism industry, and the success of these cities is due to their clear objectives.
“While they are larger cities than Dundee, we can certainly learn from their methods.
“With this framework in place, business tourism in Dundee and Angus is expected to increase by 10% per year over the next five years, which in turn will help to create and secure 700 additional full time jobs in the area.”