Royal Yacht Britannia named Scotland’s best visitor attraction for twelfth year running

THE Royal Yacht Britannia has been rated as Scotland’s Best Visitor Attraction by VisitScotland for the 12th year in a row.

The Queen’s former floating palace, permanently docked in Leith, is ‘setting the bar high for excellence’, according to the tourism body.

VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance Scheme is the official measure of quality for tourism businesses in Scotland, benchmarking visitor attractions, accommodation providers, and catering establishments across Scotland.

Tourism businesses are assessed based on the welcome, attitude, knowledge and efficiency of staff, as well as audience level, interpretation, maintenance and cleanliness of the attraction.

Britannia has featured in TripAdvisor’s UK Top 10 for the last 5 years, with over 16,500 reviews and the highest percentage of ‘Excellent’ reviews (72%).

Over 5 million people from across the world have visited the attraction since it opened in 1998.

It is owned by The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust who have the responsibility of maintaining and preserving the ship as a key part of the UK’s maritime history.

During a 44-year career, Britannia conveyed The Queen, Royal Family and other dignitaries over 1,087,623 nautical miles, calling at more than 600 ports in 135 countries.

The attraction allows visitors to step on board and take a look around the yacht’s five decks with an audio tour.

The Royal Yacht is also celebrating its most successful year to date, since opening 19 years ago, with visitor numbers running 13% up on last year.

Britannia’s Chief Executive, Bob Downie said, “To be the best in Scotland once is a fantastic achievement, but to do this for twelve consecutive years is a phenomenal tribute to our staff who go the extra mile to ensure that all our visitors have a great experience when they visit Britannia.

“The true test of any great organisation is consistency of performance, delivering great value for time and money, year in year out, and there is no doubt that our pioneering approach to providing great customer experiences has underpinned our success.”

Lord Thurso, Chairman of VisitScotland said: “This is a remarkable achievement for The Royal Britannia. To retain the accolade of Scotland’s best attraction for the 12th year running is no mean feat and very well deserved for such an iconic attraction.

“We need to think bigger about Scotland as a tourism destination to ensure we fulfil our potential – every visitor must get a quality experience every single time – and Britannia is leading by example and setting the bar high for excellence.”