Press release -
Two Scots landmarks make TripAdvisor Top Five
Edinburgh Castle has today been named as the fourth best-rated landmark in the UK in the Travellers’ Choice TM awards for Landmarks, announced by the travel planning and booking site, TripAdvisor.
The historic fortress, once home to Mary, Queen of Scots, towers over the city from its position at Castle Rock and can be seen for miles from every direction. The castle also houses the Crown Jewels of Scotland.
Edinburgh’s success continues with the Royal Yacht Britannia, which this year was named the fifth best-rated UK landmark, jumping up in the rankings from its eighth place position last year.
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “It is wonderful to see two Scottish attractions make the top five of TripAdvisor’s 2018 Landmark Awards.
“Edinburgh Castle, which last year welcomed over 2million people, is the highest rated landmark outside of London with the Royal Yacht Britannia at Leith following close behind. Both of these attractions offer unique experiences for visitors, giving them a taste of all the fantastic things to see and do in Scotland.
"It is great to see them receive such thoroughly-deserved recognition. Awards such as these act as a springboard for visitors to discover wider regions and our country’s hidden gems.”
Travellers’ Choice Landmarks awards honour top landmarks worldwide based on the millions of valuable reviews and opinions from TripAdvisor travellers. Award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews for landmarks worldwide, gathered over a 12-month period.
TripAdvisor spokesperson, Hayley Coleman, said: “It’s fantastic to see two of Edinburgh’s iconic landmarks steadily rising in the rankings. The regional spread of winners in this list shows there is so much to see – throughout the UK. As demand for these winning landmarks soar during peak seasons, travellers planning a visit should book their tours ahead on TripAdvisor to avoid disappointment."
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- award
- tripadvisor
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.
