Know Before You Go: Guidance for travel in Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Scotland’s third largest city is the ‘Energy Capital of Europe’ and a major hub for international conventions and business events.
Affectionately known as ‘The Granite City’, Aberdeen boasts sandy beaches alongside 55 golf courses, museums and a wealth of maritime heritage.
With hundreds of castles, eight distilleries and a raft of unique and unusual venues to choose from, Aberdeen has much to offer conference and event planners.
P&J Live, Aberdeen’s new 48,000 sqm / 516,667 sqft venue opened in the summer of 2019 alongside the 200-room Hilton Aberdeen TECA, which offers a further 257 sqm / 2,766 sqft of meetings space.
Sample world-famous quality local food and drink across Aberdeenshire, including Aberdeen Angus beef, craft beer, salmon, trout and a wee dram of Scottish whisky.
As the gateway to the Highlands, and only a two-and-a-half hours’ drive to Edinburgh or Glasgow, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire are the perfect point to start your Scottish journey.
Aberdeen International Airport is only a 15-minute drive from the city centre. There are daily direct flights from the main international hubs including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Amsterdam, Paris and Copenhagen. In addition, the airport is well served domestically with 16 flights daily between Aberdeen and London and other regional UK airports.
Take one of the hourly trains from Glasgow and Edinburgh, or use the east coast line or the overnight sleeper service to travel directly from London, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh. The train journey time between London and Aberdeen is 7 hours.
Aberdeen is two-and-a-half hours’ drive from Edinburgh or Glasgow.
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Marine, environment and agricultureThe James Hutton Institute, Scottish Agricultural College and Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences lead the way in marine and agricultural studies. Research in coastal and deep-sea marine environments, ecosystems, climate change, biodiversity loss, poverty alleviation and food supplies dominate the work of leading scientists. Aberdeen is also home to the National Soil Archive. |
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Health and nutritionThe Rowett Institute, Institute of Applied Health Sciences and the Centre of Obesity are internationally renowned for their work in nutrition, epidemiology, health psychology, respiratory and rural health. Aberdeen is also a global leader in the areas of food security, food inequalities, obesity, pain management and mental health. |
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Medical sciencesA custom-built institute, the Suttie Centre provides state-of-the-art facilities for medical researchers and students. Modern teaching of anatomy and medically-related sciences links the University of Aberdeen directly with NHS Grampian, and is home to the Centre for Genome-Enabled Biology & Medicine, the Mass Spectrometry and Analytical Facility, Aberdeen Proteomics Facility and Aberdeen Biomedical Imaging Centre. |
Quality accommodation is in abundance, with over 10,000 bedrooms available across the city.
| 5* hotels | 200 bedrooms |
| 4* hotels | 4,000 bedrooms |
| 3* and under properties | 2,800 bedrooms |
| Other (student accommodation / home sharing) | 4,000 bedrooms |
Aberdeen’s choice of venues range from a large-scale arena and convention centre to boutique and unique options.
Granite City, the gateway to the Highlands - this north-eastern part of Scotland has a plethora of incentive options that embrace both the Scottish landscape and its culinary delights.
The professional and friendly team at the Aberdeen Convention & Events Bureau can help with any business events-related enquiry. They also work closely with the University of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University, James Hutton Institute and P&J Live to access city contacts, offers and the best advice for staging your next event.
