Press release -
The King of the Castle with Five Star Award
After a recent assessment, the award was presented by the national tourism organisation for the venue’s quality and high standards.
Blairquhan Castle, currently owned by Ganten Scotland, is available for a variety of events such as weddings, private parties, corporate meetings, Christmas breaks and golf parties.
The castle, a piece of Regency architecture, is located in 200 acres of parkland, with original 1816 landscaping including a unique walled garden. Well established woodlands, beautifully manicured lawns, an avenue of 18th century lime trees and many other magnificent vistas, mean this location is a particularly popular choice for wedding photography.
VisitScotland’s quality assessments evaluate all the aspects of an accommodation and the service provided as consumer research shows that cleanliness, hospitality and friendliness, service, efficiency and the quality of food, bedrooms and bathrooms are most important to visitors.
Blairquhan is a Platinum Member of Ayrshire Golf Scotland and also offers exclusive use to golfing parties where players can enjoy their own space along with quality food and drink in the luxurious interiors of the castle. And for those looking for an exceptional stay at Christmas or Hogmanay Blairquhan Castle offers an experience like no other with period furniture and an exquisite ambience.
Annique Armstrong, VisitScotland Regional Director, said;
“I am delighted Blairquhan Castle has achieved a VisitScotland five star award. Blairquhan Castle is an exceptional venue which can be hired for a huge variety of different needs catering for both the leisure and business customer. It is a hugely valuable asset to Ayrshire bringing groups from all over the UK and beyond to enjoy this part of the world.”
Nan Li, General Manager of Blairquhan Castle, said:
“We are so thrilled to have received the five star grading from VisitScotland. This award ishighly regarded within the Scottish tourism industry and is a true affirmation of the superb facilities and high service standard Blairquhan Castle offers to our customers. Onwards and upwards, we are really looking forward to welcoming more UK and International guests to enjoy an unforgettable, exclusive experience at our stunning castle!”
VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance scheme is a benchmark for quality across the tourism industry and operates across accommodation, visitor attractions and food sectors. It 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 on Blairquhan Castle visit www.blairquhan.co.uk
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
Regions
- Ayrshire
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
