Blair Castle gets vote of coach customers
Good feedback results in latest title
Blair Castle has picked up a top tourism award after impressing judges.
Staff at the Atholl Estates in Blair Atholl were presented with an Excellence Award by Irish coach tour operators CIE Tours International, thanks to positive feedback from more than 14,000 CIE customers in 2016.
The castle’s sales and marketing manager, Julia Sim, collected the accolade at the awards ceremony in Glasgow at the Hotel du Vin Devonshire on Tuesday, April 25.
The staff at the Highland Perthshire estate believe the historic walled gardens, ruined kirk and informative tours detailing more than 700 years of history – along with the location on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park – keep attracting visitors to come back.
Julia said: “We are delighted to receive this latest award.
“It’s little wonder as we do believe that we have so much to see and do here at the castle and estate - we are a real day out from start to finish with something for everyone, whether the history buff, gardening enthusiast or the nature lover.
“We believe in really looking after our coach tour customers, and that is why operators build in a stop-off time and time again.
“We expect nothing less than these visitors to be experiencing a 90% plus service at all times.”
Julia says the string of recent awards and the addition of a caravan park have helped to boost customer satisfaction at Blair Castle.
She said: “The caravan park has been performing really well on Trip Advisor, consistently rated excellent, and has most recently picked up an award from the AA for the high standard of accommodation and overall park experience. This is heartening as it’s a vital part of our overall business.”
The award was presented by Elizabeth Crabill, CIE Tours International’s managing director. She said: “We are pleased to award these partners, such as Blair Castle, that have developed a notably excellent customer experience in the UK.”
Blair Castle is now preparing to host its annual Atholl Highlanders Parade and Gathering on May 28-29.
• The Atholl Palace Hotel in Pitlochry has been rated Best Overall Hotel Service and Hospitality in the whole of the UK. The award was given by Irish coach tour operator, CIE Tours International, which
Blair Castle in Highland Perthshire recognises the quality of hotels and visitor attractions.
While it awards a ‘Merit’ award to those who have received a greater than 90% customer satisfaction rating, the company also presents ‘Gold’ awards for the best performing tourism provider in a number of categories.
The Atholl Palace Hotel was one of the eleven Gold award winners for the whole of the UK, being judged top hotel for service and hospitality.