News Release: 16^th March, 2016

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FAMOUS GROUSE EXPERIENCE SHARES ITS WISDOM WITH COMPETITORS AS SCOTTISH TOURISM WEEK GETS UNDERWAY

Tourism is a tough business but, at the end of the day, Scotland's top attractions are all in it together. That was the message as the award-winning Famous Grouse Experience, Scotland's most visited distillery, shared the secrets to its success with some of the country's top tourist destinations on the eve of Scottish Tourism Week 2016.

 A ‘must visit' visitor attraction in its own right, The Famous Grouse Experience, recently voted Best Visitor Experience at the 2015 Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA) Awards, opened the doors of Glenturret Distillery last week to share its story with the delegates from Edinburgh Zoo, Blair Castle and The Royal Botanic Gardens in a masterclass open exclusively to fellow ASVA members.

Representatives from 12 of Scotland's top tourist attractions and organisations gathered to listen to Stuart Cassells, General Manager of The Famous Grouse Experience, Operations Manager Lesley Williamson and Marketing Executive Sarah Duncan share their insights into the award-winning tactics of the attraction, from restructuring visitor tours to recruiting staff. Attendants were also treated to a tour of the distillery and a whisky blending experience.

Scottish Tourism Week, organised by The Scottish Tourism Alliance, runs from March 11^thto March 18^thand features a roadshow of conferences, seminars and receptions across Scotland.

ASVA recently announced that visits to its member sites were up for the second year running, with Edinburgh Castle topping the list at more than 1.5 million visitors a year. In total there were more than 27 million visits to ASVA sites in 2015, a rise of 3.4%, according to the Association's Visitor Trends Report.

Other attendees included National Wallace Monument, Glendronach Distillery, The Black Watch Castle and Museum and Historic Environment Scotland.

Stuart Cassells, General Manager of The Famous Grouse Experience, commented:

"This last year has seen us pick up several tourism accolades, from ASVA, Whisky Magazine and TripAdvisor, putting us in a great position to share our knowledge with others. At the end of the day we are all in this with the same mission, which is to boost Scotland's tourism and, in turn, its economy. We love to share a dram here at the Glenturret Distillery, in more ways than one, and by welcoming fellow leading visitor attractions to the distillery so that they can learn how we do things, it all adds up to a better experience of Scotland for the thousands of visitors who cross our collective thresholds every year."

ENDS 

For further information on this news release, please contact Tricia Fox, Volpa, Tel: 07989 955039 or 01738 658187, Email: t.fox@volpa.co.uk   

Notes to Editors 

About Glenturret Distillery and The Famous Grouse Experience 

• The Famous Grouse Experience is located at Scotland's oldest working distillery - Glenturret. Originally established as a single malt distillery in 1775, today The Famous Grouse Experience is the most visited distillery in Scotland (welcoming an average of 100,000 visitors every year). 

• The distillery was fully refurbished in 2014 and was recently awarded Best Visitor Experience at the recent Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions Awards, and scooped three Icons of Whisky Awards for Whisky Visitor Attraction Manager of the Year, Distillery Manager of the Year and a Highly Commended for Whisky Visitor Attraction of the Year.  

• Last year it announced the opening of a new café & restaurant on site, Wilde Thyme at Glenturret, a partnership with award-winning Comrie based luxury caterers Wilde Thyme offering the very best in locally sourced Scottish produce and dishes that give diners an authentic and delicious taste of Perthshire.   

• The distillery offers the opportunity to learn how a single malt is made in the traditional way, as well as learning how some of the Glenturret single malt is then blended along with other grain and malt whiskies to create The Famous Grouse, the No. 1 whisky in the UK.  

• Opening Hours 10am-6pm (Nov-Feb 10am-5pm)  

• Visitor and café restaurant Opening Hours 10am-6pm. Evening opening Friday and Saturday 6pm-10pm 

• For more information please visit www.thefamousgrouseexperience.com or call 01764 656565 

Tour Experiences 

• Distillery Experience: (1 hour) Runs hourly. Includes one exceptional distillery tour, and a taste of two fine whiskies. £10 adult, £9 concession (seniors/students/under 18s). 

• Tasting Experience: (1 hour) Runs hourly. Includes one exceptional distillery tour, a taste of five fine whiskies and a souvenir nosing glass to keep. £20 Famous Tasting, £30 Finest Tasting, Over 18s only. 

• Warehouse Experience: (1½ hours) Includes one exceptional distillery tour, a taste of four fine whiskies and a magical peek at hundreds of sleeping casks in our very special warehouse. £40, Over 18s only, Pre-booking recommended. 

• Blending Experience: (2 hours) Includes one exceptional distillery tour, a tasting of four fine whiskies inside our exclusive bonded warehouse and a unique opportunity to master the art of blending your own whisky, complete with complimentary 100ml bottle and certificate. £60, Over 18s only, Pre-booking recommended. 

• Stillman Experience: (Full day) Available Tue, Wed, Thu. Includes one exceptional experience with unrivalled access to the unique world of whisky production. Spend the day side by side with our Stillman and our Drammolier™, learn the art of blending, and toast one fine day with a dram from your complimentary bottle of The Glenturret Highland Single Malt. £250, Over 18s only, Pre-booking essential.