The Old Manse of Blair earns five stars from VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance Scheme

EDINBURGH, Scotland, 2019-Jul-24 — /Travel PR News/ — A country house in the heart of Highland Perthshire received a special visit from a VisitScotland Coo Van as it became Perthshire’s first Five Star Restaurant with Rooms.

The Old Manse of Blair, just outside the village of Blair Atholl, received five stars 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.

To celebrate the accolade, Heather, one of VisitScotland’s herd of Coo Vans, stopped off at the house on her way to the House of Bruar to award the business with its Five Star plaque. This is the first time a Coo Van has presented a business with a QA award.

Owned by Anne MacDonald, The Old Manse of Blair is home to the Orangery Restaurant, which is under the leadership of Executive Head Chef, Jonathan Greer, formerly of The Gleneagles Hotel and Ballathie House. As the restaurant serves locally sourced, quality food and drink, it has received VisitScotland’s Taste Our Best accreditation.

Heather’s visit to the House of Bruar is part of the national tourism organisation’s outreach activity which involves a fleet of three ‘coos’ and their ‘Coo-visors’ driving across the country engaging with locals, visitors and industry. Later this week Heather will be visiting Scone Palace, the Secret Bunker and the Museum of Flight.

As well as providing information and inspiration, the Coo Vans allow VisitScotland to promote visitscotland.com and the rich content available to visitors before, during and after their stay. In 2018 the Coo Vans were out on the road for over 314 days, attending 72 events, and visited 218 venues and tourism hotspots.

Located within the Cairngorms National Park, The Old Manse of Blair is the perfect Highland getaway for a special vacation, wedding, family gathering or dining experience.

Anne MacDonald, Owner of The Old Manse of Blair, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have achieved such a high rating and a food award from VisitScotland in such a short space of time. We have a fantastic team here at The Old Manse and this is a wonderful reward for all their hard work, care and attention to detail.”

Caroline Warburton, VisitScotland Regional Leadership Director, said: “Well done to Anne and the whole team at The Old Manse of Blair. To achieve a Five Star grading is very impressive and I’m pleased to see the Orangery Restaurant is committed to serving a high standard of locally sourced food and drink.

“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.”

For more information about The Old Manse of Blair, go to www.theoldmanseofblair.com

For more information about VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance Scheme, Taste Our Best Scheme and visitor information provision, go to www.visitscotland.org

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://media.visitscotland.org
• For tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.htm
• 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 http://www.visitscotland.com
• For information about business tourism in Scotland go to http://www.conventionscotland.com

Scotland’s Themed Years

• Following an industry consultation, the Themed Years will now take place every second year to enable more time for planning and opportunities for collaboration.
• 2020 has been designated as a year in which Scotland’s Coasts and Waters will be showcased and celebrated with a programme of activity designed to support the nation’s tourism and events sectors.
• The year, led by VisitScotland will sustain and build upon the momentum of Scotland’s preceding Themed Years to spotlight, celebrate and promote opportunities to experience and enjoy Scotland’s unrivalled Coasts and Waters, encouraging responsible engagement and participation from the people of Scotland and our visitors.
• A year-long programme of events, activities and ideas will shine a spotlight on the impact our waters have had on Scotland, from the formation of beautiful natural features to the creation of our national drink – whisky.
• Join the conversation using #YCW2020
• 2022 will be the Year of Scotland’s Stories – a celebration of our rich literature, film, oral traditions and myths, and legends.

Source: VisitScotland

###

Subscribe to Notifications