Scottish Game Fair set to give £5 million economic boost

Perthshire businesses have welcomed the potential £5 million economic boost that the GWCT Scottish Game Fair will provide this month.

According to Jump Research, accommodation providers, restaurants and other local businesses in the surrounding area are set to benefit from the arrival of more than 30,000 visitors and nearly 300 exhibitors for the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s three-day annual festival of countryside and conservation, sponsored by NFU Mutual, which returns for the 32nd time to Scone Palace on new dates from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 September.

Exhibitors, sponsors and staff will swell the numbers further, while around 100 people will be on site for four days before the event begins during the construction phase.

Show director James Gower said: ‘This much-loved annual event draws people from all over Scotland, so the material increase in tourism will be tangible. Pretty much every hotel and restaurant surrounding Scone Palace are fully booked.

‘Tens of thousands of people venturing to Perthshire will provide a timely economic injection to the hard-hit hospitality sector post-pandemic. The benefits of an event like this are far-reaching for so many, from those with a single room air B&B through to multi-national hotel groups.’

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Perthshire Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive, Victoria Unite, added: ‘This is a timely boost for businesses trying to get back to something approaching normal after a devastating 18 months.

‘The hospitality sector has been particularly badly affected and so the economic spin-off to restaurants, hotels, B&Bs, bars and other catering businesses is extremely welcome.

‘Perthshire has a long association with the GWCT Scottish Game Fair and events such as this showcase the wide array of dynamic businesses in our area. It is so good to be back hosting major events like this after such a testing time and we know it will be a huge
success.’

For more information, visit www.scottishfair.com.

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