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Brodie Castle has won an Award of Excellence from Irish coach tour operator, CIE Tours





Pete Chambers and Sandrine Lawrie of NTS picking up the award from Stephen Cotter of CIE Tours.
Pete Chambers and Sandrine Lawrie of NTS picking up the award from Stephen Cotter of CIE Tours.

Brodie Castle has won an award based on feedback from visitors from North America.

The accolade, issued during a ceremony at the Ardoe House Hotel in Aberdeenshire, was presented by Irish coach tour operator, CIE Tours, which recognises the quality of the UK’s hotels and visitor attractions with an Award of Excellence to those who have received a greater than 90 per cent customer satisfaction rating over the previous year.

Brodie Castle visitor experience supervisor, Jamie Barron, is delighted so many visitors have enjoyed their experience at the estate and “carried away such happy memories”.

He said: “It's always lovely when visitors give feedback, and all the more so when it's so positive!

“We love finding new ways to give our visitors great experiences, so it's lovely to hear about how they enjoy themselves here. We couldn't be happier!”

The awards are based on feedback from 12,000 visitors on around 200 providers of accommodation, dining, tours and attractions from throughout the UK.

The providers with the best satisfaction score in each category are recognised with a Gold Award.

Managing director of CIE Tours, Stephen Cotter, said: “UK tourism has shown incredible resilience in recent years. I'm proud and impressed that we are able to celebrate the quality of the UK’s offer, despite the pandemic and recruitment issues post-Brexit.

“The level of demand from North America for UK tours enjoyed a terrific jump in 2023 due to pent up demand. 2024 has stabilised but we have introduced innovative new or reimagined tours to generate interest. Demand for Scotland remains particularly high and one of our most popular tours is almost completely sold out for 2024.”

On the operator’s updated Scottish and Irish sampler tour, travellers visit three capital cities Edinburgh, Belfast, and Dublin to experience popular attractions and hidden gems.

Mr Cotter said: “Our focus on both urban and rural tourism is part of our sustainability goal of partnering with regional and independent businesses to extend economic benefits into local communities.”

Mr Cotter added: “Year on year, huge effort is made by our partners to improve and enhance their offerings based on the feedback we provide to them from our annual visitor surveys.

"Their dedication and commitment help to maintain the UK’s reputation as a leading destination for US visitors. We are delighted to recognise their contribution to tourism, and the contribution they make to their local communities in terms of jobs and wealth creation”.

CIE Tours is Ireland’s leading in-bound tour operator, having, over the course of its 92-year history, brought more than three million visitors from North America to Ireland, Britain and beyond.

In the 1990’s, CIE Tours extended their offering to include Scotland, with combination tours of Scotland and Ireland becoming increasingly popular in recent years.

“We love having coach tours here at Brodie,” said Jamie. “It's an important part of our visitor experience, alongside the public tours.

“It's always great to give coach tours a little snippet of Brodie history, and, as they're often visiting other historic sites, the story provides extra context to Scotland's remarkable history.”

Brodie Castle is currently providing visitors free access to its Playful Garden to mark the site’s five year anniversary.

“It's a fun place to explore at any age,” said Jamie, “with various whimsical interactive sculptures for little ones, and the daffodil presentation beds and vegetable garden as well.“



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