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| The Scottish delegates who attended the InterregIIIC SusSet conference at the Laholmen Hotel in Stromstad 7th Sept 2005
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Because of my role as Chairman of Stonehaven it's Special Tourism Group and a committee member of Stonehaven Business Association, I was asked to attend the conference for the InterregIIIC project - Sustaining small expanding towns(SusSET )in Sweden, This meant absolutely nothing to me as I didn't know the first thing about it.
I though to myself "is this one of these 'jolly' trips funded by the Council where Council employes can go and have a good time at the taxpayer's expense.
I was told that the travel and accommodation would be paid for but I would need to volunteer 4 days of my time away from from my Web Design and Internet Services business.
When the purpose was explained to me I thought what a wonderful opportunity to find out what really happens on these overseas trips funded by the Government or Local Councils or in this case the European Union.
Could any real value be gained?
As the Stonehaven delegates were to be based in Stromstadt a similar coastal town, it was possible something could be learned which could help business or tourism in our town so I decided I would go.
On the 7th September I left home at 7.50am, joined the rest of the party at Aberdeen Airport before flying to Amsterdam and then to Gothenburg and travelled by coach to arrive in Stromstad at around 8pm that night. It was a long journey although everything was well organised and there were no unnecessary delays.I did however feel there must have been a quicker way to get there.
We got half an hour to check into the Laholmen Hotel and then we received an official welcome from the Swedish Group at a local Restaurant where we were treated to some fine seafood and given the opportunity to meet the Polish and Greek delegates
We all had to meet at 8.30am the next morning in the Conference Hall where we were welcomed by the local Mayor Mr Erland Lundqvist. The aims and expected outcomes were then well articulated by Project Leader, Nick Brown from Aberdeenshire who made it quite clear that he wanted everybody to enjoy themselves in Sweden but there was some serious work to be done. It was then I realised that I was part of something quite big here .
Throughout the morning we received a fascinating insight from local politicians into the issues and challenges facing the towns of Stromstad, Amal and Kungalv, finishing with an excellent talk on creativity and growth in small Swedish towns from Professor Borje Johansson of Jonkoping International Business School.
After lunch, we were split up into work groups to focus on the sub-topic themes;-
- Tourism & Identity
- Whole Town Strategies
- Long Term Planning
- Community Engagement and Dialogue
- Conservation and Heritage
- Partnership and Management
- Marketing and Promotion
I have to say I was most impressed by the committment and interest shown by all the delegates and I was particularly proud to be part of the Scottish Delegation who were playing such a major role in this project.
I was determined to learn as much as I could and take some thing back that could help the future development of Stonehaven in particular.
In the evening the Inverurie delegates left for Amal, Ellon to Kungalve with Stonehaven remaining in Stromstad.
We were taken on a Boat trip in the evening when more ideas were exchanged with representatives from the other countries and next day we were given a guided tour of Stromstad, followed by further discussions in the magnificent Town Hall, on Partnership and Town Management.
I travelled with the Chairman of the Stromstad Business Association,the Manager of the local Tourist Office and our own Business Support Officer on a visit to a new hotel development, out of town retail developments, a new Marina Development and a short trip over the border into Norway.This gave us an excellent opportunity to glean information on a number of business and tourism related matters.
The hospitality shown by the Swedes was superb and they have now set a very high standard which Poland Greece and Scotland will be keen to at least match if not surpass, although that will be difficult.
Further reports will be available soon when feedback has been obtained from all the Scottish delegates.
In the meantime, I now list my personal observations and provide some pointers which could stimulate some thinking and action for positive benefits to Stonehaven.
1.On the outskirts of Stromstad. I noticed two large camping and caravan parks with first class facilities. If land could be found around Stonehaven, there could be an opportunity for a private developer to create something similar here. Stonehaven already has an accommodation shortage which makes it difficult to attract many more visitors in the summer.This could be a tremendous opportunity for a company to create a properly run complex with the right facilities to attract visitors creating more jobs and more customers for local businesses.
2 In the summer Stromstad attracts almost 100,000 visitors mainly from Norway and surrounding areas. Only a small proportion from other European nations. The local Tourist Manager explained that people love to to visit a coastal town for a break, particularly at weekends. They visit Stromstad because the people are friendly, accommodation is available, they have plenty restaurants and entertainment is laid on at weekends. The recent survey carried out by the Stonehaven it's Special Tourism Group showed that Stonehaven also attracts a large number of visitors fom Aberdeenshire and other areas in Scotland. Could we capitalise more on this?
During a conversation with the driver on my taxi journey from the Airport, he told me that a group of 20 people visit Stonehaven every month, travelling by train and visiting the local pubs and restaurants spending around £100 per head.
That's £2000 from one group of visitors who only travelled 15 miles and this happens once a month. I asked the reason and he said they just find Stonehaven so friendly and they can go out and enjoy themselves without facing the hassle they experience in the city.They get good food and generally find the local pubs have a good atmosphere.This places even more emphasis on where we should market our town.Should we, like Stromstad, target our main marketing nearer to home?
3.Stromstad had only one large hotel with 150 bedrooms and very few guest houses so the Camping and Caravan Parks attracted large amounts of visitors.( A new hotel is under construction and another one is planned.) However the hotel had conference facilities and the hosting of fairly large conferences played a significant role in bringing people to the area as many people whose only reason for visiting was to attend a conference, returned at a later date with their partners and family.I personally would never have though of visiting Stromstad, but now I would be very keen to return for a holiday with my wife. This is a potential opportunity for some existing hotels in Stonehaven or a reason to attract a new hotel with conference facilities. This could also have an positive impact on the local shops etc
4 Stromstad whose population is approximately 11,000 has three main supermarkets in the centre of town, yet between this town and the Norwegian borders, fairly large retail parks have been created, which attracts a lot of customers from Norway. Yet they seem to be in the middle of nowhere. In view of the recent controversy in Stonehaven over planning applications on the outskirts of Stonehaven the effects of this might be worth further investigation. As the Norwegians seem to like Coastal Towns and have money to spend, could Stonehaven do something more to attract visitors from Norway?
5.It was obvious that organising the right type of events played a vital role in bringing visitors, as lots of people who would not normally visit a particular town would do so to attend something like a Blues or a Folk Festival. Amal has been running a hugely successful Blues Festival for 15 years and the importance of this was recognised by the whole of the town.
To conclude, this was a very enjoyable and informative trip and as a volunteer, it was worth giving up four days of my time plus the few hours to write this report and I hope that my observations will stimulate some creative thinking and sow some seeds which could assist in controlled and sustainable growth for Stonehaven. My main interests were Tourism and Business but I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the Council officials from all areas were so well prepared in their own subjects and how they were respected by delegates from the other countries.
Everyone arrived back in Aberdeen at 8.30pm on Saturday 10th September all very tired and looking forward to going home, yet Project Leader Nick Brown and his Regional Coordinator, Allison Cummings insisted on getting everybody together to thank them but also to remind them of everyone's obligation to disseminate what they have learned from the trip to the appropriate local organisations and report back to him in two weeks time.
Yes the trip was enjoyable but certainly not the Council 'jolly' I half expected as everyone from all countries took the aims of the project very seriously.
I look forward to seeing the reports from other delegates and I will take a keen interest in how the project is taken forward with future conferences in Poland and Greece and hope I get the chance to be involved when the Scottish Conference takes place in November 2006.
George McGillivray www.webecommarketing.co.uk 11/09/05
See report by Andrea Hauxwell from K&D Voice
http://www.kdvoice.org.uk/susset.html
Go to main SusSET website
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