Industry Spotlight, leadership, News, Skills and Recruitment, Tourism Events, Uncategorised

First Young People in Tourism Conference to Take Place

Women In Tourism has announced an industry-first, with the first Young People in Tourism conference which will take place on Monday 19^th November 2018.

Appointed to the Women In Tourism Board as the Year of Young People Director in early 2018, Julia MacGregor was tasked with hosting an event in celebration of the Scottish tourism themed year. The result of the challenge has been the announcement of the first conference in the UK delivered by and dedicated to supporting Young People in the tourism industry.

The celebratory year has seen consumer and industry events hosted across the country and was set out to provide a platform for giving young people a stronger voice through showcasing ideas and talents. The Year of Young People conference will reinforce these ambitions and will be a key event in the autumn calendar when it’s hosted in Glasgow on the 19^th November 2018.

The agenda sets out to inform and inspire young people starting their career in tourism with a focus on delivering tangible takeaways for each delegate. With a keynote from Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Culture and External Relations, the agenda also includes participation from Sheila Gilmore, Executive Director of VisitArran, Dale MacPhee, GM of Edinburgh’s Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian and Marc Crothall, Chief Executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance.

Three workshops will be delivered during the conference and will focus on developing leadership skills, mentoring and social media engagement. In line with providing a platform for dialogue and discussion, the host of each workshop will be joined by a young person who will be instrumental in curating the content and delivery of each.

Julia MacGregor, #YOYP2018 board Director said: “The aim of the conference is to inspire our future tourism leaders and provide them with invaluable skills and advice from those at the top of their game. When starting out in a role, it’s not often you get the chance to take workshops on mentoring or think about leadership skills and how you can make use of them. What’s key is that we empower and encourage our young people to take time out of their day jobs to learn, and often junior members of staff don’t feel they have the authority to attend conferences. The support for the conference has been incredible, and we’re very grateful to be able to pull together such an exciting agenda.”

Susan Russell, Chair of Women In Tourism, said: “Julia joined Women In Tourism in early 2018 and has been a driving force in our engagement with the Year of Young People. Her enthusiasm, drive, hard work and excitement are all testament to the exciting programme we’re launching today. It’s been a real privilege for us all to work with Julia in developing the conference and the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the talent of tomorrow reinforces our founding principles of motivating, supporting and encouraging colleagues across the sector.”

Tickets for the conference go on sale Friday 7 September. BOOK HERE.

NOTES TO EDITORS

For more information, please contact Susan Russell | susan@womenintourism.co.uk | 07914 846619.
About Women In Tourism:

Women In Tourism launched as a membership organisation in March 2017 with the founding principles to inspire, motivate, encourage and support women within the sector. Annual membership costs £40 and offers the initial benefits of:

Discounted Women In Tourism (and partner) events
A 60-minute mentoring session with a woman within the sector
A skillswap, with members offering an in-kind skills in return for advice or business services from another member
A dedicated smartphone app