My Column

City really is the dear green place.

  • Date: Monday 27th November 2017
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What a week it has been for Glasgow – the city is now smiles better when it comes to industry recognition for its top visitor experience and there could well be more in the pipeline next summer.

Glasgow has quite simply been racking up the tourism awards recently, which is of course a hugely encouraging sign for local businesses and investors.

At the recent International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) congress in Prague, it was recognised as one of the world's leading cities for sustainable business tourism and was named 'Best Improved Destination'.

This award contributed to Glasgow moving up the ranks of the Global Destination Sustainability Index, allowing it to reach fourth position in the world - an impressive feat by anyone’s yardstick.

It now scores over 70 per cent in environmental, social and supplier performance, with its convention bureau performance scoring an impressive 94 cent, meaning that we’re a truly outstanding place for heads of industry to gather.

Glasgow even enjoyed recognition as an innovator when its People Make Glasgow Greener campaign became the first in the UK to win a Green Tourism Award.

This puts Glasgow in prime position as it prepares to host the inaugural multi-sport European Championships across two weeks, co-hosted with Berlin next summer.

It already looks like the event will be hugely popular, particularly if volunteer applications are anything to go by.

New figures have revealed that more than 10,000 people applied for the 3,000 volunteer roles up for grabs at the Glasgow 2018 games. These applications came from a staggering 89 different countries with a fifth of the applicants being from Glasgow.

It’s impressive that not only locals are applying, but significant global interest is also being generated – and that’s before the competitors have even landed. It just goes to show the superb reputation that Scotland has for events, and Glasgow as a host city in particular, especially when it comes to putting on world-beating sporting events.

It doesn’t quite break the record for most applications ever though – nevertheless, Glasgow still holds that distinction. The 2014 Commonwealth Games takes that title with 15,000 places available and more than 50,000 eager volunteers applying.

Naturally, the 10,000 figure remains a brilliant show of interest for a brand new event though, with the Championships set to take place across venues in Glasgow and Berlin from 2–12 August.

Everything I’ve read so far has been so positive for the Championships, with hopes high that it will follow on from, and enhance, the legacy of the 2014 Games, which reportedly provided a £100 million boost to the local economy.

It’s been calculated that the potential broadcast audience next August could be over one billion while the physical audience attendance for venues across the event could be in the region of 250,000.

It’s a superb opportunity to showcase Scotland on a world stage once again as a top visitor destination. It’s also a huge potential audience for local businesses to impress, going way beyond the venues themselves and spotlighting just what we have to offer. Everything from retail to restaurants and hotels can capitalise.

Everyone should prepare to impress. I think business owners should invest more in staff training and refurbs now, which will ensure they can benefit from the additional footfall and provide a prime product or service come next summer. Ultimately, I think this would be a great investment for business owners.

Either way, with the recent award wins and recognition for tourism excellence in the city of Glasgow, the European Championships are set to be a huge success and the sign of more to come for Scotland.

On your marks, get set, Glas-go!

 

SIDE

In this digital age, it’s incredible to think that almost half of small and medium-sized businesses in Scotland lack the online capabilities that could improve productivity and save on costs.

That’s according to The Bank of Scotland’s Digital Index, which has found that 56 per cent of SMEs north of the border do not have their own website, while the same percentage do not use social media.

More worrying is that 34 per cent claimed that the internet was not relevant to their business. It won’t work for everyone of course, but I find the figure hard to believe as gone are the days when you reach for the Yellow Pages.

Also, in an ever-competitive marketplace in Scotland where digital skills truly set businesses apart, the most commonly cited reason for companies’ failure to embrace technology was a lack of basic digital skills. Make no bones about it, this is extremely concerning.

I applauded a scheme run by Google, on this very page last year, where in partnership with Glasgow City Council, the technology giant hosted a pop-up "digital garage" allowing small businesses to take advantage of free digital advice to set them apart from the crowd.

When they launched the service at the Mitchell Library, Google announced that 88 per cent of businesses involved in their previous digital garage events had changed the way they run or promote their business online, while 68 per cent believed they had seen positive results.

Surely we need to bring more digital advice to the masses, either through Google or other means to educate and help Scottish SMEs get to grips with digital technology. Especially with nearly half of respondents to The Bank of Scotland’s Digital Index research stating that neither they, nor their employees, had the ability to use online tools.

 

LAUGH

I had to laugh when I read that MSP Kezia Dugdale insisted she was appearing on ‘I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! In order to promote "Labour values".

I’m at a loss to understand how eating Kangaroos’ privates and picking cockroaches out of your pants really promotes the party’s values to the Scottish public.

She feels that it’s a great opportunity to talk to young people who watch the programme, but when most tune in its to see the latest Z-list ‘celebrity’ scream as they are up to their neck in jungle critters, I’m sure most of the dull rhetoric will be left on the producers’ cutting room floor.

One can’t help but wonder whether this is just a cynical attempt at profile-raising for coming elections. 

 

WEEP

It was incredibly sad to read the findings from the Fatal Accident Inquiry into the Jim Clark Rally that claimed the lives of three spectators in May, 2014, along with a fourth death at the Snowman Rally near Inverness in 2013.

The joint enquiry examined both events and found that safety checks were 'weak' and 'inadequate' and that the three fatalities at the rally in the Scottish Borders might have been avoided.

It really is heart-breaking that motorsport fans, simply enjoying a day out to watch their beloved sport, will not return home.

 

I do hope that the Fatal Accident Enquiry’s findings, delivered by Sheriff Kenneth Maciver QC, will be taken into account, so that in the future races in Scotland can be enjoyed by spectators without fear.

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