Scottish Thistle Awards 2001 - Cultural Tourism

Winner - Mercat Tours Ltd
Mercat Tours Ltd was the first company in Scotland to devise, market and make a success of a daily ghost tour, based on well-researched and accurate historical information.

Since its inception the range of products and number of tours have been extended considerably including the introduction of the internationally renowned tours of Mary King''s Close in 1996. Since 2000 new systems of quality assurance and communication have been introduced, including Investors in People, with visitor numbers now exceeding 100,000 per year.

This was an excellent and well-presented entry, conveying the significant growth in the visitor numbers and commitment to quality. The effective marketing, use of alliances and success indicators made Mercat Tours a very strong entry.

Finalist - Island Trails
Established in 1998, Island Trails offers colourful and historic guided tours around Shetland. Preserving the traditional Shetland dialect, culture and folklore, Elma Johnson has successfully achieved her objectives of bringing Shetland''s folklore and history to life, promoting lesser known parts of Shetland to visitors, increasing trade to the establishments concerned, as well as developing her own personal ambitions. The judges felt that this entry was an excellent presentation of a unique and personal project, with clear tourism objectives. Effective marketing, combined with a niche product make Island Trails a highly successful small business and excellent cultural experience.

Finalist - Old Scatness
In 1975 a previously unknown Iron Age broch site was discovered when a road clipped its edge. Twenty years later Shetland Amenity Trust purchased the site and raised the money to create a major heritage project. Their vision was to excavate the site to the highest possible standards whilst involving the public at every stage. Today 24 buildings have been excavated, and the visitor attraction now consists of guided tours, living history demonstrations, an exhibition area, viewing platforms, replica building and merchandise. This project shows a good marriage of archaeology and tourism, with a good customer focus. The excellent use of alliances, and targeted marketing to both locals and visitors to Shetland, make this a commendable entry.

Award Description
This Award recognises the wealth of artistic talent in Scotland and the mutual benefits to be gained by close co-operation between cultural and tourism bodies. 

The judges were looking for projects where cultural and tourism organisations have worked closely together in imaginative ways to bring high quality experiences of Scottish culture to visitors in Scotland. 

The Award was open to cultural and tourism-related organisations or consortia which aim to realise the tourism potential of Scotland's performing, visual and literary arts, language, museums, heritage, crafts and design etc.