ASVA Conference 2025 Programme

Join us for an engaging start to the day as registration opens and the trade exhibition kicks off. Enjoy a selection of teas and coffees while you network with fellow attendees and explore the exhibition. This is the perfect opportunity to connect, exchange ideas, and get a head start on the day’s events.

We look forward to welcoming you and setting the stage for an inspiring conference ahead!

Philip Long OBE
Chief Executive
National Trust for Scotland

Philip has worked in culture and heritage throughout his professional career. Prior to taking up his current role as Chief Executive of the NTS, he was founding Director of V&A Dundee and before that Senior Curator at the National Galleries of Scotland. A Board member of Creative Scotland and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Philip received an OBE in 2020 for services to Culture and Heritage.

Historic Environment Scotland

Delivering Joy

Helen Smout, Chief Executive, Culture Perth and Kinross

The Mastery of The Macallan: Guest Experience & Satisfaction

Gillian Swan, Experience Manager, The Macallan Estate

Helen will talk about the work to open a new 5 star visitor attraction; how the customer journey is considered and why the focus is on delivering joy not perfection.
She will discuss the challenges, frustrations and rewards of the organisational change required to respond to visitor expectations whilst balancing stakeholder and community needs, decreasing funding and security alerts!

Gillian will share key insights into how The Macallan cultivates strong satisfaction among guests.
She will also reflect on the first year of TimeSpirit, The Macallan’s new dining restaurant, and how this has impacted on the guest journey.
The Macallan Estate operates as an appointments-only venue and this session will offer key learns around the impact of this strategic approach.

The Steamship Sir Walter Scott at Loch Katrine

From Attraction to Action: Practical Takeaways from Our Responsible Tourism Journey

Sarah Thomson,
Visitor Experience Manager,
The Royal Yacht Britannia

“You’re Speaking My Language”
Creating Community Language Translations at The Burrell Collection

Laura Bauld, Senior Curator, & Michael Mackinnon, Digital Content Producer, Glasgow Life Museums – The Burrell Collection

Tourism for Everyone

Jillian Scholfield, Service Manager for Culture, Events & Tourism,
Stirling Council
ASVA board member

The Burrell Collection prides itself in making the museum accessible to diverse communities. This session explores their successful project to create translations of in-venue content in 10 local community languages. It will offer practical insights in selecting languages reflective of our audiences and schools, procuring high-quality professional translations including British Sign Language and Gaelic, and evaluating the impact of these translations in-gallery and online.

Hosted by: Victoria Taylor, Experience Consultant, VictoriaTaylUK
Join Victoria as she shares insights from industry leaders on what it takes to make attractions truly stand out. World Class isn’t about doing one thing well; it’s about how you do everything. This panel explores telling a unique founder story, balancing operational and creative perspectives, and unlocking hidden team skills. You’ll also discover how to turn retail into part of your cultural story, creating experiences that inspire and connect with visitors. From challenges to successes, the panel will show that anything is possible with a world-class mindset. You’ll leave with practical ideas to bring world-class events and digital experiences into your attraction.

Panellist: Arantxa Garcia
Creative Director and Founder,
Exhibio VM Creative Studio

Exhibeo is run by Arantxa Garcia, with over 13 years experience of high street retailing, and Visual Merchandising experience working with leading museums and galleries. Exhibeo VM delivers a distinctive, bespoke and unique approach to Visual Merchandising, and can adapt to any period, exhibition theme and institution.

Panellist: Chris Mather
Founder & CEO, Mather & Co

Chris Mather is the Founder and Chief Executive of Mather & Co, a leading visitor experience design agency. Before establishing the company, he was Design Director at Granada Television, an Officer in the Royal Navy, gained a law degree, and played international rugby.

Panellist: Iain Stirling
Co-CEO/Co-Founder, The Port of Leith Distillery and The Lind & Lime Distillery

Ian spent a decade in the wine trade in London before returning to Edinburgh in 2016 to establish a whisky distillery with his lifelong friend and business partner, Paddy Fletcher. With no experience of running or building a distillery, they embarked on a unique journey to raise millions, launch a global gin brand, explore new approaches to whisky production, and construct the world’s tallest distillery on a small patch of land in Leith.

Panellist: John Murray
Social Media Content Creator Manager, VisitScotland

John Murray leads organic social media content creation at VisitScotland, combining creative production, performance analysis, and strategy to engage audiences. He produces authentic video content showcasing Scotland’s landscapes, culture, and experiences. Beyond his role, he’s built a personal following of over 900,000 across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok and won the visual category at the 2024 Scottish Influencer Awards.

Panellist: Gayle Shepherd
Director of Executive Office and Social Impact, Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games

Joining the Glasgow 2026 Team, with 10 years Executive Director level experience at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC). Gayle has previously managed Operational Event Delivery, Project and Corporate Services teams, for many international events and most of your favourite music artists, which drove forward Scotland’s National Venues, OVO Hydro, Armadillo and SEC Centre, hosting around 300 events annually.

All for the Love of Animals: Balancing Commercial and Charitable Mission

Lisa Robshaw, Head of Marketing and Sales,
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland

The Power of Experience: Turning Vision into Value

Stuart Cassels, Head of Sales – Generations,
Gordon & MacPhail

In today’s experiential economy, success depends on more than profit alone.

Drawing on his leadership across culture, whisky, and tourism, Stuart Cassells explores The Power of Experience – how vision and purpose can shape meaningful ‘guest’ journeys, increase commercial performance, and create lasting memorable impact.

TBC

TBC

The Play Effect: Sparking Joy and Connection in Visitor Attractions
Mark Grimshaw, Associate Director, Timberplay Scotland
&
Abbi Olive, Visitor Attraction Director, Castle Howard

Lauren Rhodes,
Commercial Development & Programming Manager
Glasgow Life.

Mark spends his days managing epic playground projects. Abbi spends hers managing an iconic Stately Home. In this session we will explore the positive effect that play can have when it is holistically integrated into a visitor attraction offer.
What happens beyond the playground itself, and how can a playful approach permeate the culture of an organisation and result in increased visitor retention, a shift in audience demographic, team satisfaction and ultimately financial sustainability.

Join Lauren Rhodes from Glasgow Life Museums as she explores innovative approaches to income generation, travel trade, and visitor experiences within free-to-enter museums and attractions. Drawing on recent initiatives at Glasgow Life, Lauren will share practical insights into developing commercial opportunities that enhance visitor engagement and generate revenue, without requiring major additional resources. This session will inspire fresh thinking about how cultural organisations can balance accessibility with financial sustainability.

TBC

TBC

Louise Bryce,
Director of Partnerships,
VisitBritain

Scotland: Champion – Connect – Invest
Marc Crothall MBE,
CEO, The Scottish Tourism Alliance

With the Holyrood elections taking place on May 26 and many new faces vying for a seat in Parliament, it’s never been more important to make the case for tourism, so that it’s front and centre in every political party manifesto.

People, Place & Creative Power – Building a Visitor Economy that Belongs to Scotland
Vicki Miller,
Chief Executive, VisitScotland

Birlinn
Creatomatic
Landmark Press
FareHarbor
FuseMetrix

Best Year
LOOP by Semantic
Bigjigs Toys Ltd
Bookspeed
One Pebble Consulting

Thomson Gray Ltd
Louise Jennifer Design
Worrywarts by Cured
Dynavics
Everyone

Lomond Books
Colour Heroes
Howden
Direct Distribution

Eastern
Timberplay Scotland
ATS
Beyonk