The annual Scottish Tourism Conference, the Signature Conference, stood as a beacon of innovation, collaboration, and sustainability.

Hosted over two days at P&J Live in the granite city, Aberdeen, the conference delivered inspiring discussions and perspectives shaping the future of tourism.

SATE’s Business Manager, Lukas Princ, was invited to deliver a presentation on sustainable aviation, delving into the realm of sustainable aviation technologies and the path towards new horizons in tourism across the highlands and islands of Scotland.

At present, we see 65% of the travel across the ferry network being done by visitors to those locations and 35% by residents. This reinforces our belief that this creates an opportunity to launch new routes served by air that could be stand-alone routes, with enough commercial demand to underwrite the local service provision for residents.

The presentation showcased new aviation technologies and the opportunity to introduce new travel experience, whilst enabling connectivity across the region.

Marc Crothall, Chief Executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) was at the conference to launch its latest policy agenda, setting out its priorities ahead of the next elections for Westminster and Holyrood.

One of these is to “promote tourism as a force for good – a key driver of job creation, investment and economic growth across all parts of Scotland, benefiting our local communities”.

Marc said to STV: “The STA’s policy agenda is a strategic framework aimed at inspiring collective action among stakeholders within governments, public bodies and private enterprise.

“Its publication comes at a crucial juncture for our industry and serves as a clarion call to action for policy and decision-makers to work more closely with the tourism and hospitality sector in not only mitigating the challenges ahead, but in seizing the opportunities which will enable Scotland to unlock its potential as a world leader in 21st-century tourism.”

The conference provided a great opportunity to network and meet industry leaders, transport bodies, hospitality sectors, and government officials. It showcased diverse views of the future of Scottish tourism.

Key themes included the importance of resilience, unity, and sustainability in propelling Scotland’s tourism sector forward.

The Scottish Government’s Tourism Minister, Richard Lochhead, spoke at the conference where he echoed the sentiment in the STA’s policy agenda.

Mr Lochhead said: “The tourism and hospitality sector is vitally important to Scotland and touches all parts of our country.

The conference not only celebrated Scotland’s rich cultural heritage and breathtaking landscapes but also underpinned the industry’s commitment to sustainability at its core.