The north-east’s leading tourism bodies are currently exploring ways to create Aberdeen’s version of the New York Highline.
Bosses from Opportunity North East (One) hope that a boardwalk could be created to allow visitors and residents to get more easily between the city and the beach. .
It is believed that this, along with other new initiatives such as an international whisky centre, could allow tourism to become a £1billion industry in the north-east by 2023.
The idea is one of many being touted by the development body which it believes would help make the north-east a global go-to tourism destination.
Addressing an audience of around 200 people yesterday at the VisitAberdeenshire tourism conference, One chief executive Jennifer Craw said innovation was the key to ensuring the region’s economy diversifies effectively away from oil and gas.
She said: “Innovation is at the heart of how we adapt to the future. Over the last six months we started to talk about what would people within the region like to see for the future.
“We’ve spoken directly and engaged with 450 people during that discussions and we are now shaping the outcomes of the discussion and will be presented back in weeks.
“The AWPR will open, we hope, this year. The outline of the new harbour is taking shape, and there is investment in Aberdeen International Airport and the AECC.
“We are a region investing and ambitious for the future. This includes ideas like a new 21st venture boardwalk connected to the city from the shore. Our own version of the Highline, if you like. “We would also like to see an international whisky centre right in the heart of our city which the likes of Bordeaux already has for wine along with a gourmet food festival.”
Last year the Press and Journal revealed plans were in motion to turn the north-east into a gastrotourism destination which will attract visitors from around the world.
Mrs Craw said a lot of work was being done to shift the focus on tourism from business to leisure within the north-east following the decline in the oil and gas industry.
As part of their plans to encourage more visitors to the area One, alongside Visit Aberdeenshire and the two local authorities, will be putting their efforts into establishing a food and drink tourism experience which will put the north-east on the map.
Ms Craw said they were also looking to work with Thainstone and the Taste of Grampian and take inspiration from Australia’s Margaret River Food Festival which attracts celebrity chefs like Heston Blumenthal and Nigella Lawson.
Mrs Craw stressed the ideas were only at an early stage but said they were part of exciting discussions which they hope will reinvent the city.
She said: “These ideas don’t actually have a home yet. We have transformational projects underway but there is room for more. They are purely ideas. But they make a huge amount of sense.
“One of the great opportunities that comes with discussions with cruise liners is that we can establish what experiences those visitors are looking for.
“There’s a huge discussion to have in terms of how we present ourselves to visitors of the future.”
New destination strategy launched
The north-east of Scotland will play a principal role in the country’s national tourism growth strategy, with a plan to contribute £1billion a year into the Scottish visitor economy.
A new destination strategy for north-east tourism was launched yesterday at VisitAberdeenshire’s sell out conference.
It sets out a plan to grow visitor spend in the region by almost £400,000 a year by 2023.
Chris Foy, chief executive of VisitAberdeenshire said: “It’s fantastic to see our conference attract local tourism businesses in record numbers. As a visitor destination the north-east has an enormous growth opportunity, and as a sector we all have a role to play in achieving an ambitious target over the next five years.
“The new strategy sets out a shared agenda for businesses of all sizes, along with agencies and authorities who have a stake in the future of tourism in the north-east. The new strategy comes at a time when visitors’ appetite to experience Scotland is growing, with the latest figures showing over 3.5million overnight trips were made in quarter three of 2017. With hotel accommodation demand exceeding supply in other parts of the country, this is a great opportunity for Aberdeenshire to increase its share of the market.”
