Press release -
Going starry-eyed in Benbecula
A guest house situated on a working croft in the Outer Hebrides has scooped a VisitScotland Quality Assurance (QA) accolade in recognition of its high standards.
Ceann na Pairc Guest House in Nunton, on Benbecula, achieved a four star gold award from the national tourism organisation at its latest grading. The ‘gold’ part of the QA award represents the continuing attainment of outstanding customer service and hospitality.
The guest house, which welcomes both tourists and corporate visitors, boasts four en-suite bedrooms - three doubles and one twin - as well as a guest lounge. Situated centrally, one mile from the airport and three-quarters-of-an-hour’s drive from each ferry port, Ceann na Pairc is also close to shops and restaurants, and a short walk away from a beautiful beach. There is also an abundance of wildlife and birdlife in the area.
Owner Catherine MacPhee aims to provide a ‘home away from home’ for guests. Rooms have TV/DVD players with satellite television and a hospitality tray and all rooms have en-suite showers rooms. Wifi access is available in all bedrooms as well as a guest lounge. Outside, there is a vast decked area and garden which guests can use and they also offer storage for bicycles and fishing gear.
On securing the award, Catherine said:
“Since we opened, it has been our aim to offer our guests real Hebridean hospitality. This has been recognised in achieving the four star gold award from VisitScotland, about which we are delighted.
“We wouldn't be where we are without our guests and the local community, who we would like to thank. Mòran taing!"
Alan Mackenzie, VisitScotland Islands Manager, said:
“It is fantastic to see Benbecula’s tourism offering enhanced by Ceann na Pairc’s well-deserved achievement. High-quality self-catering and B&B accommodation is vitally important to our visitors, which is why VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance gradings are so important to the tourism industry as a whole.
“Developed and improved over the past 25 years, our Quality Assurance schemes are world-leading and provide a trusted, independent and impartial source of information for visitors. They allow you to not just meet visitor expectations, but exceed them.
“Quality Assurance is about much more than just the ‘stars’ on your door – it’s about the entire visitor experience, it’s about investing in your business and making it as economically sustainable, and profitable, as it can possibly be.”
Benbecula lies between the islands of North Uist and South Uist, to which it is connected by road causeways. Due to its central location in the island chain, it is an ideal base for those wishing to spend several days exploring the neighbouring islands, most of which are accessible and back within a day.
Benbecula in Gaelic is Beinn na Faoghla, which means Mountain of the Ford. It is blessed with some beautiful beaches, backed sand dunes and the machair typical of the Hebrides.
The island has its own golf course and sports centre as well as access to horse riding, walking, cycling, wildlife and bird watching.
VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance Scheme currently boasts over 7,000 participants and has been used as an example of best practice with countries all over the world, including Sweden and Namibia.
For more information, please visit: www.ceann-na-pairc.com
Caption: Owner of Ceann na Pairc, Catherine MacPhee, is pictured.
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- According to a recent Deloitte study, the tourism economy supports 270,000 jobs in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the tourism economy contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business events in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
Year of Food and Drink 2015- 2015 is the Year of Food and Drink, a celebration of Scotland’s natural larder and the role that food and drink plays in shaping our economic success.
- Scotland generates over £2.5m per day through food and drink tourism.
- A series of themed months will create an appetite for key areas of Scotland’s food and drink industries – from seafood and whisky to berries and high-quality meat
- For more information, visit www.visitscotland.com/tastescotland
