Press release -
A touch of gold awaits visitors to Islay
An Islay Bed and Breakfast has become Scotland’s first ever two star gold accommodation following a grading from VisitScotland.
Anchorage B&B, situated on the shores of Lochindaal in the village of Bruichladdich, received the award from the national tourism organisation’s Quality Assurance (QA) Scheme in recognition of their outstanding customer service. The Gold Star Award highlights establishments within the QA Scheme that strive to exceed customer expectations on an on-going basis, whilst taking an innovative and proactive approach to customer care.
The accommodation is an early nineteenth century stone built house and has been lived in by owner Anne Tait since she was two-years-old. Despite moving away to study nursing, Anchorage was always her home and she moved back to open it as a B&B in 1990.
Customer service has always been a top priority for Anne and she always goes the extra mile to ensure her guests have the best stay possible. This is evidenced by the large number of repeat visitors she welcomes back, some of whom have become close friends to her.
Having spent most of her life on Islay, Anne loves to share her valuable insights on what to see and do on the island with her guests. It therefore made perfect sense for Anchorage to join an impressive network of VisitScotland Information Partners, committed to providing local information to visitors. This official accreditation adds value to her service and helps her support the local community by promoting other businesses across the island.
As well as VIP, the B&B also has Taste Our Best accreditation, due to Anne’s use of good quality locally sourced food, and is a member of VisitScotland’s Ancestral and Pets Welcome Schemes.
Anne Tait, owner of Anchorage B&B, said: “I’m delighted to receive this wonderful recognition from VisitScotland. At Anchorage I do my upmost to ensure the needs of my guests are met so it’s great to see the hard work has paid off with this award.”
David Adams McGilp, VisitScotland Regional Director, said: “Congratulations to Anne on her achievement. To receive gold accreditation a business must go above and beyond to look after their guests so this award is a testament to the exceptional standards of customer service visitors can expect at Anchorage B&B.
“Our Quality Assurance Schemes are world-leading and provide a trusted, independent and impartial source of information for visitors. The star rating reflects the entire visitor experience, as well as the investment in the business to make it as economically sustainable and profitable as it can be.”
VisitScotland’s QA Schemes can open the door to new customers. It is a powerful marketing tool and works well with online review sites in using an independent perspective to measure visitor experience against tried and tested criteria, so visitors know exactly what to expect.
Launched in September 2013, Taste Our Best is a joint initiative between the national tourism organisation and the Scottish Government. Assessors rate the overall eating experience, the extent to which Scottish produce (at least 40%) is used and promoted, and staff knowledge of the produce on the menu and its provenance.
The VisitScotland Information Partner programme is open to all Quality Assured businesses, as well as community groups, local authority-operated library services and social enterprises. VisitScotland provides the partner sites with official signage and collateral, promotional material and information resources to make sure visitors receive first-class information about the local region and about Scotland as a whole.
For more information about Anchorage B&B go to www.theanchorage.squarespace.com/
For more information on VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance schemes, visit www.visitscotland.org
ENDS
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- quality assurance
- 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 five overarching strategies: Marketing, Events, Quality and Sustainability, Inclusive Tourism, International Engagement.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP
- 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 tourism in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
2018 Year of Young People
- The Year of Young People (YoYP 2018) will inspire Scotland through its young people aged 8 to 26, celebrating their achievements, valuing their contributions to communities and creating new opportunities for them to shine locally, nationally and globally
- Central to YoYP 2018 will be a celebratory events programme that puts young people at the heart of its development and delivery, creating new and valuable experiences for young Scots and the wider public, with links to the inaugural 2018 European Championships.
- Over 200 young people throughout Scotland are currently being recruited to become YoYP 2018 Ambassadors. Ambassadors will ensure that people and organisations in their communities know about what’s happening and will lead on projects and activities to create events and opportunities to celebrate young people.
- The Year of Young People will have six themes which were developed in co-production with young people themselves:
- Participation – looking at how young people can influence public services and decisions which affect their lives
- Education – creating a stronger role for young people in shaping their learning
- Health and Wellbeing – supporting young people to lead healthier, active lives and have opportunities to learn about and improve their mental health and resilience
- Equality and Discrimination – broadcasting the value of young Scots, challenging negative perceptions of young people, and supporting young people to take leading roles in challenging discrimination in all its forms.
- Enterprise and regeneration – celebrating young people’s role in innovation, entrepreneurship and the Scottish economy as well as making Scotland a greener and more pleasant place to live
- Culture – celebrating young people’s talent and contribution to Scottish culture and arts.
- Further information on what’s happening and how people can get involved can be found on the new website www.yoyp2018.scot or @YOYP2018 on Twitter.
