Scotland may be celebrating the Year of History, Heritage, and Archaeology, but there is plenty of news to report. On the tech front, Visit Scotland has unveiled a new virtual reality app that includes 360-degree tours of more than two dozen attractions, among other features. It works with the inexpensive Google Cardboard viewer and is available at visitscotland.com/app.
Work is under way on the $440 million Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Center (AECC), a game changer for the northern part of the country. Set to open in 2019, the AECC will offer flexible event space for up to 3,000, 12 meeting rooms, and more than a half million square feet of flexible exhibition space. It is flanked on either side by a 12,500-seat arena with retractable seating and three onsite hotels -- all directly connected. The futuristic design, the core of a larger business park, includes a large entry plaza and substantial road work. Nearby Aberdeen International Airport is undergoing its own $26 million expansion.
In Glasgow, the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Center has rebranded as the Scottish Event Campus (SEC), incorporating the SEC Centre, SEC Armadillo, and The SSE Hydro arena. The location has also changed, although the buildings haven't moved. The surrounding Finnieston neighborhood has undergone a renaissance, turning from an industrial area into a hopping neighborhood full of new restaurants, nightlife, and shops.
Near both cities, the five-star Gleneagles Hotel has finished a multimillion-dollar refurbishment that includes a new pool, and outside Glasgow the newly refurbished, 18th-century Crossbasket Castle hotel features a ballroom furnished with historic pieces and overlooking the waterfalls on the River Calder.
Questions or comments? Email [email protected]
This article appears in the April 2017 issue of Successful Meetings.