BH&HPA 75th Anniversary Year
Sparkling Edinburgh conference launches BH&HPA 75th Anniversary Year. The annual conference of the British Holiday & Home Parks Association, now marking its Diamond anniversary, saw a record number of delegates gathering in Edinburgh this February.
More than 600 park owners, managers and other industry figures from across the UK were brought together for the two-day event at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.
The packed agenda included guest speakers from the world of politics, business and sport – plus over 40 expert-led workshops to help parks fine-tune their business strategies.
600 Park Owners at Edinburgh Holiday Park Conference
Among those welcomed onto the conference platform was Richard Lochhead, the Scottish Government’s Business Minister whose portfolio includes tourism.
Mr Lochhead told delegates that the Scottish Government was fully supportive of their sector and applauded the benefits it brought to regional economies and employment:
“Holiday parks are an important cog in Scottish tourism and this conference highlights the vibrancy of the industry,” he said.
“The British Holidays and Home Parks Association shows a real commitment to sustainability, providing a good blueprint for businesses across the country, and I was pleased it chose to hold its record-breaking conference in Scotland,” added Mr Lochhead.
BH&HPA National Chairman Ian James said, “I was delighted that we were able to welcome nearly 650 delegates to this event in Scotland, making this conference the biggest we have ever produced.
“Our many specialist and guest speakers clearly resonated with our audience,” added Ian.
BH&HPA Conference Welcomes Guest Speakers
The conference also heard from Lord Gavin Barwell, the former Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister who took delegates behind the scenes in Downing Street during his address.
Lord Barwell gave an insightful analysis of the current political and economic outlook for Britain, and shared his predictions of what the future holds for businesses such as parks.
Business was also the focus of celebrity entrepreneur Dave Fishwick who told of his ultimately triumphant struggle to open Britain’s first new high street bank for over 150 years.
Now the subject of a multi-award winning Netflix drama “Bank of Dave”, he related how he fought bureaucracy and officialdom to get his Burnley-based community business up and running.
Overcoming the odds also featured in the talk given by leadership coach Carla Miller who laid out her strategies for overcoming the hurdles faced by those whose mission is to bring about change.
And it was surmounting hurdles of a very literal kind which enabled conference speaker Colin Jackson CBE to achieve his status as a much-admired sporting legend.
The former Olympic hurdling athlete, also known today as a TV commentator and “Strictly” contestant, held delegates in thrall as he described the highs and lows of his sporting career.
Changes Ahead for BH&HPA
Thanking conference attendees for making Edinburgh the most successful annual summit in BH&HPA’s history, Director General Debbie Walker outlined the busy year which lay ahead.
Ms Walker announced that in January 2026 BH&HPA would be re-named HARPA (the Holiday and Residential Parks Association) and its more dynamic role given extra emphasis.
“Feedback from delegates following the conference suggests that both large and smaller parks found the event timely, relevant and of real practical value to their businesses,” she said.
