VisitScotland Business Events will gather senior leaders from Scotland’s business events community to network, learn, and reconnect for its annual conference, Journey: The Business Events Conversation.
Taking place on the 16th February at Scottish Event Campus (SEC), in Glasgow, this year’s thought-provoking event will explore the theme Rising to the Challenge. Through interactive workshops, debates and conversations, the event will examine the realities shaping our industry today and the opportunities ahead, covering economic change, inclusion, sustainability, and transformation.
The packed conference programme will include illuminating sessions such as ‘Scotland’s role in a changing global landscape’, with speakers exploring factors shaping the business events industry, including shifting delegate expectations, economic pressure and growing demands for sustainability and purpose-led impact.
Meanwhile, Anna Abdelnoor, founder ofisla, will offer a candid view of the business events industry’s progress towards net zero in ‘Sustainability checkpoint: the hard questions on Net Zero and the future of events’.
In a stimulating session led by Amanda Ferguson, Head of Business Development at The University of Edinburgh Hospitality Collection and featuring the University of Edinburgh debating team, the realities of hospitality and events will be interrogated. With bold arguments and a dose of healthy discomfort, this event will debate the motion: ‘This house believes that the hospitality sector is inherently a poor long-term career choice.’
Other sessions in the programme include ‘Transformation Talks’, which will discuss how partnerships between events, destinations, and community organisations can drive inclusive growth and sustainable local impact. There will be an interactive workshop addressing real challenges submitted by delegates, with panellists from the opening session acting as roving contributors, and finally a candid Q&A breakout gathering multi-generational voices to explore how different perspectives shape career paths, priorities and innovation.
Neil Brownlee, Head of Business Events, VisitScotland and Immediate Past Chair, PCMA, said: “Our industry holds an incredible depth of knowledge and expertise, and when we come together to share it, everyone benefits. Our conference creates a space for meaningful reflection and the exchange of ideas, and I always come away feeling inspired. This conference is an important part of that ongoing conversation, helping to drive progress towards a stronger business events industry that places social and economic inclusion and sustainable growth at its core.”
To register for Journey: The Business Events Conversation, please visit – https://visitscotland.eventsair.com/journey-the-business-events-conversation-2026/bookingform/Site/Register
To learn more about Journey: The Business Events Conversation, please visit – Journey: The Business Events Conversation | VisitScotland Business Events
