It is good to talk business

Have you ever wondered how a major event is staged?

How Justin Bieber’s recent Scottish concerts were handled or how the Street of Light that illuminated Christmas in the capital was brought together?

Closer to home, have you ever thought about the work put in behind the scenes to coordinate the annual fireworks displays in Dundee’s Baxter and Lochee Parks or the complex logistics behind the extraordinarily successful Oor Wullie Bucket Trail.

The answer to each of these questions is, probably not.

But the events sector is big business for Scotland these days and putting on a great show requires precision, if not military levels, of planning.

The Enchanted Forest is a case in point. At its root was a simple idea to use the natural beauty of Perthshire to drive visitors to the area. It worked. And some. For this January edition of Business Matters, Andrew Argo has spoken with some of the team behind the illuminated woodland spectacular which has grown to become a fixture of the autumn calendar and a major economic driver for the Pitlochry area.

This month’s magazine also looks at the conferencing sector and the huge efforts made to bring high value visitors to Tayside and Fife.

Regular contributor Ian Forsyth talks with Michaela Ruff of Horsecross Arts, the group tasked with bringing life to Perth Concert Hall, about an events strategy that has attracted Scotland’s political elite to the Fair City along with hundreds of summits, business workshops and ancillary events.

Karen Tocher of Dundee and Angus Convention Bureau also gives her perspective of the state of the multimillion-pound business tourism sector and how the upcoming V&A Dundee design museum is expected to help build overseas delegate numbers to the region.

Mr Forsyth also dips his toe into the oft unseen academic conference sector which is helping institutions like Dundee’s universities grow their international profile and bring gifted people to north-east Scotland.

This month’s Business Matters also has the latest on the controversial revaluation of business rates which is set to cost some companies tens of thousands of pounds per year.

Our regular columnist and Scottish Chambers of Commerce chief executive Liz Cameron also gives her take on the business scene in 2017 and we have the latest private sector news.