MBE Director of Findhorn Village Centre, Christine Hunt, and VisitScotland Regional Director, Jo Robinson in front of the hostel Jan 11, 2017 14:16 GMT Moray hostel in a different class A volunteer-run hostel,in the heart of the village of Findhorn, has doubled its VisitScotland star rating. Findhorn Village Hostel, which was converted from an old school, has gone from a two-star to a four-star accommodation provider under the national tourism organisation’s Quality Assurance (QA) scheme after making a number of improvements. The QA scheme is a benchmark for quality across the tourism industry and operates across accommodation, visitor attractions and food sectors. The coastal accommodation, which opened in 2000, received a two-star grading in 2014 but has since been committed to development. A massive refurbishment took place in May which included a new kitchen and living room as well as the installation of double glazing. An excellent new website has been created and improvements have also been made to the hostel’s booking process. Along with two members of staff, these changes are largely down to the community spirit of the village, with around 20 locals volunteering their services. All of the hard work has been rewarded with the four-star accreditation. Now open all year round, and with an annexe being opened in January, Findhorn Village Hostel offers excellent accommodation for those exploring the Moray coast. Justina Baltakyte, the hostel’s Marketing Manager, said: “We are extremely pleased to be given this four-star QA award. The team and volunteers have worked very hard so it’s great to receive this recognition and see that our efforts have paid off.” Jo Robinson, Regional Director at VisitScotland, said: “I would like to congratulate everyone at Findhorn Village Hostel on their four- star QA award. It is a superb achievement and the improvements made are very impressive. “Our Quality Assurance scheme helps businesses to reach their full potential and truly shine. The scheme is about more than just the ‘stars’ on the door - it’s about the entire visitor experience, about investing in your business and making it as economically sustainable as possible.” Developed and improved for over 30 years, VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance schemes are world-leading and provide a trusted, independent and impartial source of information for visitors. They allow businesses not just to meet visitor expectations, but to exceed them. For more information on Findhorn Village Hostel, go to http://www.findhornvillagehostel.com/ For more information on VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance scheme, go to www.visitscotland.org - ENDS - 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 seven overarching strategies: 1. Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country 2. Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations 3. Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish- based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels 4. Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice 5. Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes 6. Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all 7. Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support • VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow. • 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. • The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Programme. For further information visit www.gov.scot or follow @scotgovESIF • For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/ • 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 www.visitscotland.com • For information about business events in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com • 2017 is the year to delve into the past and discover Scotland’s fascinating stories through a wide-ranging variety of new and existing activity to drive the nation’s tourism and events sector, boosting tourism across Scotland. • The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology begins on 1 January 2017 and will end on 31 December 2017. It will build on the momentum generated by previous themed years in Scotland including the 2015 Year of Food and Drink, Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural. • The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Built Environment Forum Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland. • The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is supported by £570,000 of Scottish Government funding. • The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate. • For more information visit visitscotland.com/HHA2017 or join the conversation at #HHA2017 Contacts Grant Anderson Corporate Press Officer - Regional Contact for media enquiries on: Glasgow; Renfrewshire; Dunbartonshire; Ayrshire and Arran; Argyll and the Isles; Year of Young People; VisitScotland Expo; Social Tourism; Inclusive Tourism [email protected] 0131 472 2416 Out of hours - 0131 472 2324.