Glamis Castle rated best experience for fifth year

The rating for Glamis Castle has been revealed by CIE Tours – one of the largest carriers of US visitors to the UK – who also reported a significant increase in satisfaction ratings from its customers.

The Irish-owned operator made the announcement at its annual awards of excellence where it also launched a new Sustainability Action Fund, which has been created to support sustainability-related projects in the regions its tours visit across Scotland

Over the course of its 93-year history, the company has brought more than three million visitors from North America to Ireland, Britain and beyond. In the 1990s, CIE Tours extended their offering to include Scotland and the rest of the UK, with combination tours of Scotland and Ireland becoming increasingly popular in recent years.

The awards celebrate UK hoteliers and tourist experience operators who have been singled out by the 12,000 visitors who came to the UK with CIE Tours in 2024. During the event, CIE Tours announced that they had seen a significant increase in the number of providers receiving a higher than 90% customer satisfaction rating when compared to 2023, signifying more stability returning to the industry post Covid -19.

The awards are based on post-stay customer feedback on around 200 tourism providers throughout the UK, with merit awards being earned by all partners achieving more than 90% in customer satisfaction.

The providers with the best satisfaction score in each category are recognised with a gold award.

Stephen Cotter, CIE Tours managing director, said: “Another successful year for us with visitor numbers remaining strong despite the inflationary pressures on our partners and customers.

“A major reason for this is the quality of experience our customers are receiving from our providers, as evidenced by the significant increase in the number of UK providers receiving a higher than 90% customer satisfaction rating this year.”

“In 2023, 53 UK businesses received greater than 90%, which jumped to 75 in 2024; 100,000 bed nights were booked throughout the UK, bringing vital revenue to cities, towns and villages.

“Sustainability is a key business objective for us, which is why we have launched our Sustainability Action Fund to acknowledge and support the contribution our rural and urban communities make to the success of our business and we are actively seeking environmental or social initiatives in Scotland that we could potentially support financially.”

The fund is part of CIE Tours’ Responsible Tourism Policy which aims to reduce the environmental impact of its operations and increase the sustainability of the communities it visits.

Mr Cotter concluded: “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.”