Scottish Thistle Awards to celebrate excellence in tourism

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The awards are open to all businesses, either based in Scotland or who have a Scottish product which has an association with Scottish tourism.

Does your tourism business pride itself on providing impeccable customer service; outstanding visitor experiences; or brilliant creative campaigns? If the answer to that question is yes, it's time for you to enter this year's Scottish Thistle Awards.

The Scottish Thistle Awards, which are co-ordinated by VisitScotland, are designed to celebrate excellence and quality within the tourism industry.

Now in their 20th year, the awards have undergone a major transformation and, after extensive industry research, they have changed to incorporate four new regional events and a revamped final ceremony.

The four regional award areas will be the Highlands and Islands; the North East; the South and Central East; and the South and Central West, with the winners from each category moving forward to represent the region at the final awards ceremony. The regional celebrations are scheduled to take place in May and the final Scottish Thistle Awards event takes place in November.

In the Highlands and Islands region, the Scottish Thistle Awards team is currently working with the already successful Highlands and Islands Tourism Awards (HITA). Starting from last November, the responsibility for managing the regional Scottish Thistle Awards in the region has been the responsibility of HITA.

The awards are open to all businesses, either based in Scotland or who have a Scottish product which has an association with Scottish tourism. There are 12 categories to choose from and businesses can enter as many categories as are applicable
to their individual achievements. New categories included in this year's Scottish Thistle Awards are: Best Hotel; Best Self-Serve Accommodation; Best Café, Bar or Restaurant; Best Visitor Attraction; Best Cultural Event; Best Sporting Event; Best Shopping Experience; Best Nature Based Experience; Training and Skills Development Award; Tourism Entrepreneur Award; and Marketing Campaign of the Year Award. More details: http://lei.sr?a=R5Q1b