A thriving university city full of contrasts, Edinburgh constantly nurtures new talent, and welcomes bright young minds from across the world to a flourishing job market across growing key sectors.
As the second top conference destination in the UK, Edinburgh has much to offer young people looking to expand their minds and seek out new opportunities, especially with the Scottish Government naming 2018 the ‘Year of the Young People’.
WYSTC in the City
Earlier this year, the World Youth and Student Travel Conference (WYSTC) chose Edinburgh as the host city for its 27thannual event – the first time the event will be held in Scotland. The conference will see an estimated 500 delegates descend on the capital. The trade event for the global youth, student and educational travel industry will be held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC), following a successful joint bid from Marketing Edinburgh’s Convention Bureau, Youth Travel Edinburgh, EICC and Edinburgh Tourism Action Group (ETAG).
On the reasons WYSTC chose Edinburgh, Pete Duncan, Chair of Youth Travel Edinburgh, said:“Edinburgh is a destination which is open, inclusive and already welcomes international millennials whether to live, study or visit. The conference will provide us with an excellent opportunity to showcase our city and Scotland to global business leaders representing a combination of educational and travel and tourism organisations.”
This is just one opportunity of many that will further raise the profile of Edinburgh to Millennials and GenZ across the world. More than just a conference, events such as these are an opportunity to showcase the city and can be incredibly beneficial in the longer term: driving visitors, encouraging students, and ultimately helping promote the destination as a place to visit, study, enjoy, live and work.
What’s important to Amanda Ferguson, Head of Business Tourism at Marketing Edinburgh, is not only attracting this younger audience but retaining it. She commented: “Marketing Edinburgh works hard to attract and retain talent to deliver a strong, diversified economy and business tourism plays a key role in this. With a skilled young workforce comes increased interest from wider business, so it’s important that we continue to welcome innovative events like WYSTC to help drive this audience.”
Key innovative sectors
A hot spot for bright young minds as far back as the Enlightenment, Edinburgh continues to entice forward thinkers to its four leading universities and growing workforce – especially in key innovative sectors: financial services, technology, life sciences, renewable energy, food and drink and the creative industries. These sector strengths are a key focus of the city’s Make it Edinburgh campaign, launched by Convention Edinburgh to showcase the capital’s varied expertise – and are areas that welcome and prosper with fresh, young talent.
Amanda Ferguson added:“The six sectors our Make It Edinburgh campaign shines a spotlight on are thriving – but they can only continue to do so with input from millennials and GenZ. When young visitors choose to invest themselves in a city, this is a key economic driver and should be nurtured. The appeal of the city for this audience is immense, and, as a destination, our priority is also to create a strong legacy from youth visitors – so we need to ensure we are communicating about opportunities and urban amenities and doing it in a way that is relevant to them.”
The innovation and cutting-edge research at the core of the Edinburgh’s universities, coupled with the vast array of amenities and cultural experiences, has helped shape the city’s popularity amongst the young thinkers of today. The breadth of activities and attractions on offer means that young travellers can experience its many different. These attributes allow Scotland’s capital to provide the backdrop to attract, and importantly retain, the entrepreneurs, culturally curious and brightest young minds of tomorrow.
This article is a contribution by Marketing Edinburgh.