Press release -
Five Star quality in Lochgoilhead
A family-owned holiday park in Argyll has received VisitScotland’s top award following a £6.5m development.
Drimsynie Estate Holiday Village, located just outside the village of Lochgoilhead, received a Five Star grading from the national tourism organisation’s Quality Assurance (QA) Scheme in recognition of its exceptional standards. The QA Scheme is a benchmark for quality across the tourism industry and operates across accommodation, visitor attractions and food sectors.
Managed by the well-established Campbell family business, Argyll Holidays, the holiday park has launched a number of new facilities including a Spa & Gym, a purpose-built destination for events and a restaurant, since the multi-million pound investment. This development, along with an overall improvement in standards, led the Drimsynie to receive an upgrade from its previous Four Star grading.
Idyllically positioned on the banks of Loch Goil, the site can be used as a base to explore Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park. Determined to ensure their guests make the most of their time in the area, the business has joined an impressive network of VisitScotland Information Partners (VIPs), committed to providing visitors with local information.
Drimsynie Estate is where Argyll Holidays began back in 1968. Letting out six caravans on a small piece of ground, Douglas and Jean Campbell grew the park into the holiday village that can be seen today. The business, now managed by the second generation of the family, currently owns eight holiday parks and is also involved in hotels, retail and construction.
Accommodation available includes hotel rooms, self-catering caravans, secluded cottages and luxury lodges. Guests can also enjoy the purpose-built archery range, heated pool, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi.
Last year, the business was presented with Best Family Holiday Park in the Scottish Outdoor Leisure Awards.
Keith Campbell, Managing Director of Argyll Holidays, said: “Everyone is absolutely thrilled to receive VisitScotland’s top award. We have been working very hard to improve our facilities to ensure visitors have the best experience possible and it’s great that this has been acknowledged by the national tourism organisation.”
David Adams McGilp, VisitScotland Regional Director, said: “Well done to the team at Drimsynie Estate Holiday Village on receiving our highest accolade. A great deal of time, money and effort has been invested in improving the facilities here and I’m delighted they are receiving this well-deserved recognition.
“Our Quality Assurance Scheme is world-leading and provides a trusted, independent and impartial source of information for visitors. It is about much more than just a star rating – it is about the entire visitor experience and investing in the business to make it as economically sustainable, and profitable, as it can be.”
VisitScotland star awards are indicators of quality and provide reassurance to visitors. The national tourism organisation offers support to businesses to ensure they meet and exceed the high standards expected by visitors.
Launched in May 2016, the VIP programme ties in with VisitScotland’s global Spirit of Scotland campaign and harnesses the local knowledge, warmth and enthusiasm of partners across the country to help visitors receive the warmest of welcomes and make the most of their trip to Scotland.
For more information about Drymsynie Estate Holiday Village go to www.argyllholidays.com/parks/drimsynie-estate-holiday-village
For more details about the Quality Assurance Scheme and VIP programme go to www.visitscotland.org
A photograph has been issued of the QA award. Left to right: Keith Campbell , Argyll Holidays; Allan Campbell - Argyll Holidays; Gordon Watson , CEO Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park; Roy Campbell, Argyll Holidays.
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- quality assurance
- argyll
- 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.
