Looking ahead: The Scottish Thistle regional finals

Article published 23/08/2023

The 2023 Scottish Thistle Awards

For almost thirty years, the Scottish Thistle Awards have shone a spotlight on the best of the tourism industry.

Only a small number of businesses and individuals are honoured with a Scottish Thistle Award; the highest accolade in the Scottish hospitality, tourism and events sector. The awards celebrate hotels, B&B's, visitor attractions, tours, festival, events and so much more.

This year there have been some key changes to the programme with new partners, timelines and refreshed categories.

With the regional shortlists now announced, we’re looking ahead to the regional finals. Here’s all you need to know.

Be inspired - The STV advert

How does the award process work?

The awards launch and nominations open in March each year and entries open in April. The shortlisting begins during May and June and then we announce the shortlist for each category in July.

The next stage of the process is the regional finals. We deliver the Scottish Thistle Awards in partnership with regional awards programmes. They combine five regional awards covering Scotland. These are:

Winners from each regional award ceremony will progress to our national final which will be held in December.

Find out more about the award timeline

Comrie Croft

Comrie Croft, Scottish Thistle Award winners

The regional finals | The where and when

South of Scotland Thistle Awards

This year sees the introduction of a dedicated South of Scotland Thistle Awards, delivered in partnership with the South of Scotland Destination Alliance and South of Scotland Enterprise. Nominations and entries were invited from the tourism and events industry in the Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway.

The regional award ceremony will take place at The Cairndale Hotel in Dumfries on 5 October 2023. To find out more visit the South of Scotland Thistle Awards website.
Aberdeen City and Shire Thistle Awards (ACSTA)

The Aberdeen City and Shire Thistle Awards takes place on Friday 22 September 2023 at The Chester Hotel in Queen's Road Aberdeen. It's a black tie event

For further information about the event or to book tickets visit the ACSTA website.
Highlands & Islands Thistle Awards (HITA)

The “HITA” Awards are organised by the industry for the industry. This year the awards take place at the Drumossie Hotel, Inverness on 10 November 2023. Tickets are still available.
Central and East Thistle Awards

For 2023 we continue to deliver the regional finals for Central & East.

This regional final is going to be held at the Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa in Edinburgh. Save the sate - 21 September 2023. Visit the VisitScotland Scottish Thistles Award website to book tickets.
West of Scotland Thistle Awards

This year the West of Scotland final is going to be at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Glasgow on 28 September 2023. Visit the VisitScotland Scottish Thistles Award website to book tickets.