Press release -
Railway Station on track for great quality
An Aberdeenshire tourist shop is celebrating after achieving one of the highest Quality Assurance accolades from the national tourism organisation.
The Platform has achieved the prestigious 5-star Tourist Shop award from VisitScotland at its first ever grading visit.
What was once a railway station has now been renovated into a fantastic shopping destination, located in the small coastal town of Macduff, situated within Banff bay.
The Platform offers a wide selection of gifts, home furnishings and both men and women's clothing with various popular brands on offer, including French Connection, Gym King, Superdry and Tia, Robell and Lauren Vidal to name a few.
The Platform also includes a café – Annie’s Cakery – which is perfect for visitors looking to stop for a light lunch or a homemade cake with their tea or coffee, whilst enjoying the scenic view over the bay.
With its strong emphasis on promoting local produce, Annie’s Cakery has achieved a Taste Our Best award - a joint initiative between VisitScotland and the Scottish Government to recognise businesses including and promoting local Scottish Produce on their menus.
The Platform has also joined the VisitScotland Information Partner (VIP) programme. Launched in May 2016, the VIP programme 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.
Visitor attractions, accommodation providers and social enterprises have all joined the scheme to become a network of local ambassadors who help ensure visitors receive first-class quality local information about the region and Scotland as a whole.
Elaine Williams, Manager at The Platform said: “We are absolutely delighted that The Platform has been awarded its 5-star status. This is a testament to both the dedication of the staff and the support we have received from our valued customers.
“We have already opened a new extension to our store since our grading and are constantly sourcing new and exciting products to offer something that little bit different and to have been recognised for this is a great achievement.”
Annie Anderson, owner at Annie’s Cakery said: “We are delighted to have been awarded 'Taste Our Best' from VisitScotland. This recognition reflects our hard work and passion for using the very best of Scottish produce with locally sourced ingredients to create our menu.”
Jo Robinson, Regional Director at VisitScotland said: “It is fantastic to see Aberdeenshire’s tourism offering enhanced by The Platform and Annie’s Cakery, and their well-deserved achievements. Achieving these awards at their very first grading visit is particularly impressive.
“The Platform is an exceptional example of a business that is working in partnership with VisitScotland – making the most of our opportunities and drawing on the impartial advice and experience to invest in and develop their business.
“My sincere congratulations go to The Platform and Annie’s Cakery on these outstanding achievements and I wish them continued success for the future.”
Developed and improved for over 30 years, VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance (QA) schemes are world-leading and provide a trusted, independent and impartial source of information for visitors. They allow businesses not just to meet visitor expectations, but exceed them.
QA 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.
For more information, visit: theplatform-macduff.co.uk
For more information on VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance scheme, please visit: visitscotland.org
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 2018 will be the next of the Scottish Government’s series of themed years, following the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology 2017.
- 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:
- oParticipation – looking at how young people can influence public services and decisions which affect their lives
- oEducation – creating a stronger role for young people in shaping their learning
- oHealth and Wellbeing – supporting young people to lead healthier, active lives and have opportunities to learn about and improve their mental health and resilience
- oEquality 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.
- oEnterprise 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
- oCulture – 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.
