2020 Aberdeen City and Shire Tourism Awards Cancelled
The Aberdeen City and Shire Tourism Awards committee has taken the decision to cancel the 2020 awards. 2020 would have been the eighth year of the Aberdeen City and Shire Tourism Awards. The scheme acts as a regional final of the Scottish Thistle Awards, meaning that local winners go on to represent the area nationally. The Thistle Awards for 2020 have also been cancelled.
The awards, the nominations for which had opened just prior to the Covid19 outbreak, were due to take place in November. Both the Aberdeen City and Shire Tourism Awards and The Thistle Awards will return in 2021.
Chairman of the Aberdeen City and Shire Tourism Awards, Stephen Gow, explains, “It’s never an easy decision to take to cancel such a popular event, however, the tourism and hospitality industry is facing exceptional challenges. At this time, we’re still unsure when many businesses will be able to reopen and in what format they will be permitted to operate.
“As the nominations for this year’s awards had just opened at the start of the pandemic, we’re in a position where we’re able to halt the application process at no detriment to any entrants.
“The awards will return in 2021, where we intend to fully celebrate the achievements of our whole industry, but in the meantime, our sector, like many others, needs the focus to be on recovery and resilience.”
The Aberdeen City and Shire Tourism Awards awards aim to highlight business and individuals that are helping the tourism sector to thrive, attracting visitors to the area and ensuring best possible standards of customer service.
Winners in the 2019 awards included Seafront Cottages in Sandhaven, The Fife Arms in Braemar, Lys na Greyne in Aboyne, The Tippling House, Aberdeen Airport and its Northern Lights Lounge suppliers, Signature Food Festival and The Gordon Highlanders’ Museum all in Aberdeen, Delgatie Castle in Turriff, Peterhead Prison, The ScottishTraditional Boat Festival in Portsoy and The Davron Hotel in Rosehearty