A driving force behind a piping festival that brings thousands of people to Moray has landed another role that will boost tourism in the region.
Pery Zakeri, who is involved with Piping Hot Forres, has been appointed to front the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival and will focus on attracting more international visitors.
Ms Zakeri, who is now the festival administrator, will work alongside the board of directors to deliver the 2015 programme and boost visitor numbers.
She said: “My passion is for event-led tourism and I am looking forward to working with the board of directors to help cement the festival as one of the leading events of its kind anywhere in the world.
“One of my main objectives for the months ahead will be to get more distillery partners on board, and to work with more local businesses, accommodation and transport providers to highlight how we can all benefit from the increased number of visitors that the festival attracts.”
Ms Zakeri previously worked as marketing and events assistant to the Tomintoul and Glenlivet Development Trust, where she organised the Liquid Treasures event which brought hundreds of people to the glen in search of hidden bottles of whisky.
James Campbell, chairman of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, said Ms Zakeri’s appointment would be pivotal to the ongoing success of the event.
He said: “Pery has an incredible track record in delivering notable events to a variety of different audiences. She clearly has a passion for both event tourism and for the Moray area, and these two ingredients will combine perfectly to push the festival on to bigger and better things.
“We are all looking forward to working with Pery on the 2015 festival and although it is still months away, we already have many of the plans in place. Every year we have been able to go from strength to strength and we hope that next May we will be welcoming even more people to this part of the world.”
Next year’s Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival will be run from April 30-May 4.