SHETLAND SEABIRD TOURS – WILDLIFE TOUR COMPANY OF THE YEAR 2024 – TRAVEL & HOSPITALITY AWARD WINNER 2024 …..

 

We are delighted to announce that we have yet again won an award, this time in the Travel & Hospitality Awards 2024…… WILDLIFE TOUR OPERATOR OF THE YEAR – SCOTLAND 2024

 

Promote Shetland – Highlands & Islands Tourism Awards WINNERS November 2022

Blog Post Extracts from Promote Shetland
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By Promote Shetland November 7th 2022

Shetland enjoyed a highly successful night at the Highlands and Islands Tourism Awards as two isles businesses came out on top in their respective categories.

Wild Skies Shetland, based in Unst, won an award in the ‘working together for tourism’ category at the HITA ceremony in Inverness. Shetland Seabird Tours – The Noss Boat, meanwhile, triumphed in the ‘best visitor attraction experience’ category.

A total of four islands businesses were nominated for HITA awards: popular Lerwick restaurant No.88 Kitchen and Bar was highly commended in the ‘best eatery experience’ category, won by Coll Hotel, while Chris Dyer of Garths Croft in Bressay was nominated in the ‘food tourism award’ category, won by distillery Beinn an Tuirc.

“It’s a great result for Shetland, wonderful to see the range of businesses highlighting the diversity and quality of Shetland’s tourism offering.”

Steve Mathieson of Visit Scotland.

VisitScotland’s islands manager for Shetland, Steve Mathieson, said: “It’s a great result for Shetland, wonderful to see the range of businesses highlighting the diversity and quality of Shetland’s tourism offering.

“Just making the shortlist for the final is a great feat in itself, considering the numbers competing in each category, and to have two winners out of our four finalists is something special.

“Wild Skies and Shetland Seabird Tours now go on to the national final in February where we wish them every success.”

Rebecca Nason and Phil Harris of Shetland Seabird Tours, which runs boat trips around the Noss National Nature Reserve and Bressay during the summer months, said they were “truly shocked but utterly delighted to be named as the winners”.

“What an incredible accolade to have achieved and a massive thank you to #HITA2022 and everyone who helped make this happen for us, the support has been quite overwhelming.”

Jane Macaulay of Wild Skies Shetland, a charity that has developed a sky trail to showcase the marvels and enormity of the skies in the most northerly inhabited island in the UK, described the ceremony as an “extraordinary night” and an “extremely productive networking opportunity”.

Meanwhile, journalist Simon Parker – who worked with Promote Shetland on a three-minute feature film on winter in the islands – scooped the Travel Writers’ travel broadcaster of the year award at a ceremony in London’s Hammersmith this weekend.

 

WiSe Award – March 2022 THE NOSS BOAT

 

Shetland Seabird Tours – The Noss Boat gains professional WiSe Award Accreditation  – March 2022.  We are leading the way as a major boat-based tourist attraction in Shetland, on how to behave & operate responsibly & safely around the marine wildlife rich environment here on Shetland. We are delighted to be the first to have this accreditation for the start of the 2022 season, having been aware of WiSe for many years. Its main aim of minimising disturbance to marine wildlife is also fundamental to our own company ethos and branding, having two professional ecologists at its core.

“All commercial operators trained and accredited under the WiSe Scheme have an opportunity to lead the public, through demonstrating the example of best practice in the field and ensuring that all commercial operations are sustainable. In doing so you will be helping the long-term future of our precious marine life, for the benefit of future generations”.

www.wisescheme.org

The UK’s national training scheme for minimising disturbance to marine wildlife

The waters around the UK are home to a fantastic variety of marine wildlife, whether visible from the shore or from a boat. However, these wild animals are vulnerable to disturbance if not encountered in a manner that respects their wild nature.

​The WiSe Scheme is about watching marine wildlife the wildlife-safe way.

​Our aim is to promote responsible wildlife-watching, through training, accreditation and raising awareness. The WiSe Scheme is a simple modular training course aimed primarily at wildlife cruise operators, dive and service boats, yacht skippers and sea kayakers, plus people participating in coasteering, stand-up paddle boarding and wild swimming. These groups of people are most likely to come into contact with marine wildlife, as they are likely out on the water on a regular basis. We also seek to educate the general public who are keen to minimise their impact whilst out on or near the water.

“We enhance people’s understanding on how to avoid disturbing wildlife”…….

LATEST AWARD Scotland’s Best Wildlife & Photography Boat Tour Company!

THE No.1 NOSS BOAT  – IT’S OFFICIAL – BEST IN SCOTLAND – COME & JOIN US & SEE WHY!  BOOKINGS NOW BEING TAKEN FOR THE 2022 SEASON….

WOW! 🏆 thank you such! Another award to end the year with……

Shetland Seabird Tours has just been named Scotland’s: ‘Best Wildlife & Photography Boat Tour Company 2021’ at the SME News Scottish Enterprise Awards! What an incredible end to an exceptional Noss Boat season! Thank you so much to all our passengers, followers & supporters! We can’t wait to get back out on the water showcasing Shetland’s rich marine life & supporting Shetland’s tourism industry in 2022 x

 

 

Scotland’s Best Wildlife & Photography Boat Tour Company’ article in local SHETLAND TIMES – December 2021.

Shetland Seabird Tours – wins 2021 Tripadvisor Traveller’s Choice Award 2021

Shetland Seabird Tours – Wins 2021 Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award!

Shetland Seabird Tours today announced on Saturday morning that it has again been recognised as a Travellers’ Choice award winner for 2021 The Noss Boat. This achievement celebrates businesses that consistently deliver fantastic experiences to passengers from around the globe, having earned great traveller reviews on Tripadvisor over the last 12 months. As challenging as the past year was, Shetland Seabird Tours stood out by continuously delighting its customers.
“Congratulations to all the winners of the 2021 Travellers’ Choice Awards,” said Kanika Soni, Chief Commercial Officer at Tripadvisor. “I know the past year has been extremely challenging for tourism businesses. What has impressed me is how businesses adapted to these challenges, implementing new cleanliness measures, adding social distancing guidelines, and utilising technology to prioritize guest safety. The Travellers’ Choice Awards highlight the places that are consistently excellent – delivering quality experiences time and time again even while navigating changing customer expectations and new ways of working. Based on a full year of reviews from customers, this award speaks to the great service and experience you provided guests in the midst of a pandemic.”

“We are delighted to be be recognised again for this award. We take trip advisor as a benchmark for good, honest feedback by our valued customers & our consistent No.1 place since we began in 2016 is testimony to our hard work & dedication in giving our passengers a top Shetland wildlife boat experience. Thank you to all our passengers. We hope to continue giving the best boat, the best wildlife experience, the best guides & the best value for money for years to come” …… Quote by ©Rebecca Nason 2021