The £1 billion regeneration of Dundee’s waterfront will be showcased to international business tourism leaders at a major industry conference next month.
City development director Mike Galloway will give a keynote address on Dundee as ‘the new Bilbao’ as Scottish tourist chiefs look to build on the almost £2bn business travel sector.
The Spanish city is seen as a model for regeneration after its fortunes were transformed by the arrival of the Frank Gehry designed Guggenheim Bilbao, a landmark museum project in the vein of the V&A Dundee proposal.
The event, at Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms, is being organised by VisitScotland and Scottish Enterprise with support from Dundee and Angus Convention Bureau and others.
The national tourism agency said 238,000 international business trips were made to Scotland in the first half of 2014 a 41% rise year-on-year and there was an opportunity to significantly increase that figure going forward.
The leaders of Scotland’s three busiest airports will be among those taking part in panel discussions at the event.
Danny Cusick, tourism director at Scottish Enterprise, said: “We know that business tourists stay longer, typically spend 50% more than leisure tourists and tend to travel around Scotland rather than stay in one location.
“All of which is great news for Scotland’s tourism companies as they can use this to drive their business growth by developing new tourism products aimed at this lucrative market,” he added.