The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Confidence demand will drive P&J Live’s fightback as complex experiences short-term uncertainty
Just before the country entered lockdown, the north-east had been building itself into a world-class destination for business tourism.
Along with excellent golf courses and distilleries on our doorstep, the recent opening of P&J Live had put the region on the map.
So the introduction of social distancing has been devastating for the venue, which would find it almost impossible to operate at a profit with such stringent measures in place.
However, Mr Foy said the team at both VisitAberdeenshire and the events complex had been working hard to secure business for the next four years, when it is hoped there will be more normal rules.
He said: “This is the one area which doesn’t have any indication yet, whether that be business events or performances, when it can reopen.
“There are currently a lot of discussions ongoing between the events industry and the government as to what reopening will look like.
“We are working on the basis that there is still a lot of interest in placing business for 2021/22/23/24 and so between ourselves and P&J Live we are still bidding on business events.
“Clearly in the short term conferences and meetings and the like simply cannot take place due to the restrictions on distancing. That is going to be critical because, like restaurants and other hospitality businesses, we will find it very difficult to open with the two-metre distancing to break even.
“The events sector will have the same challenges with any form of social distancing due to the very nature of having people brought together for conferencing and meetings. But there will still be demand for meetings and conferences and events.
“Yes, we have adapted to having meetings on Zoom and Teams and the likes in the last few months. That has got us through business continuity, but that won’t replace that human need to meet and discuss and to debate issues in conferencing.”