Business, Leisure and Eco-Tourism

With an unrivalled natural landscape, colourful history and rich cultural offering, Perth and Kinross is a frontrunner for leisure, business and eco-tourism. Couple this with its central location and an exceptional infrastructure linking it to all major road, rail and air networks, and you will see why it remains one of Scotland’s strongest options for tourism-related investment.

Tourism accounts for just over 11% of employment in the area and it is estimated that in 2022 there were over 2 million visits totalling £286 million of industry turnover. (2021 statistics).

In order to harness the potential of this sector, and following Perth's 2022 UNESCO City of Crafts and Folk Arts award, significant investment has been made in cultural tourism. This includes the £26 million development of Perth Museum, which opened in March 2024 and is expected to attract 160,000 visitors annually, and the £2.5 million refurbishment of Pitlochry Festival Theatre in 2022, a Tay Cities Deal project on target to attract over 100,000 visitors annually.

Events are also a major tourism driver, with a portfolio that includes the Enchanted Forest, Scottish Game Fair and Rewind, and superb sporting events such as Etape Caledonia and Blair Castle International Horse Trials. Gleneagles has been host to both the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup which has helped to showcase the area to a worldwide audience.

Stats below are from 2022, and are the latest figures available.

From the crowning place of Scottish kings to the world's oldest whisky distillery and a world-class adventure playground, Perthshire boasts some of the best visitor attractions that Scotland has to offer. Alongside this, a vibrant cultural scene including award-winning theatres, Perth Concert Hall, galleries, museums and gardens provides plenty to see and do for visitors from all demographics.

In addition to this, Perthshire has multiple long-standing, high quality events including the Enchanted Forest, Perth Festival of the Arts, Blair Castle International Horse Trials, and large annual fixtures such as the Etape Caledonia cycle event and Rewind Festival, which have laid down roots in the area.

The Business Growth Team at PKC would like to open discussions with organisers, and activity providers, looking to secure a central location in Scotland for their next event or project.

It is well documented that business travellers spend approximately two to three times that of leisure tourists, offering considerable economic opportunities to the local economy. As well as driving footfall in and around the region's conference centres, business tourism impacts significantly on the hospitality industry, and will often include a requirement for leisure activities for delegates.

With its easy to reach, central location, Perth and Kinross is well placed as a conference destination, and has venues catering for small and intimate team meetings, to large-scale industry events for over 2000 delegates.  

In addition to this, world-class resort properties, such as Gleneagles, Crieff Hydro and Dunkeld House, ensure the area is a global destination for business travellers. This in turn drives standards and investment, including the recent upgrades to Murrayshall Hotel and Golf Resort, and the city centre boutique accommodation provider, Parklands Hotel.

Venues in this space are supported by Meetings Perthshire, a purpose-led organisation targeting the business tourism sector and generating leads for their members.