What are the categories?
There are 15 regional and four national categories in this year’s programme. Each celebrates the best in tourism and those providing outstanding visitor experiences.
Celebrating the best in the business
Innovation, collaboration, and sustainable practices
The Scottish Thistle Awards are an important celebration of the best of our tourism and events industry. They recognise those businesses, events, and individuals who work hard to change, innovate, and adapt to create the warm destination and visitor experience that Scotland is famous for.
How to go from nomination to award
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Awards launch and nominations
Before our entries open, nominations are a chance for visitors to have their say on which tourism businesses and events have stood out to them. Once a business has been nominated, we'll let them know and encourage them to enter and be in with a chance of winning a coveted Scottish Thistle Award.
Nominations for our 2026 awards are now closed.
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Entries open
Any tourism business or event - whether they have been nominated or not - can enter the Scottish Thistle Awards.
Entries for our 2026 programme are now closed.
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Shortlisting begins
We have a panel of independent industry experts who judge all entries during May and June.
Find out more about our judging process on our Scottish Thistle Awards website.
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The regional awards take place
Every autumn, five regional Scottish Thistle Awards ceremonies take place across the country.
The five regional ceremonies have now taken place. Head to our news section to see who took home the regional trophies.
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Celebrating the national final
Winners from the five regional finals as well as shortlisted businesses in our national-only categories compete for the national titles.
Winners for the 2026 national final will be announced in November.
- Best Accommodation or Unique Stay
- Best Bar or Pub
- Best Community Tourism and Events Initiative
- Best Eating Experience
- Best Hotel
- Best Outdoor and Adventure Experience
- Best Self-Catering or Exclusive Use
- Best Visitor Attraction
- Climate Action Award
- Employer of the Year
- Inclusion Award
- Innovation Award
- Outstanding Cultural Event or Festival
- Individual of the Year
- Rising Star Award
- Best Business Event
- Best Luxury Experience
- Outstanding Sporting Event
- Positive Impact Inbound Tour Operator
What are the benefits of winning a Thistle Award?
To kick off the 2026 programme, we once again created an advert spotlighting some of our 2025 winners to be featured on STV.
The advert hears from previous Scottish Thistle Award winners - Edinburgh Zoo, Kildrummy Inn and DF Concerts (TRNSMT Festival).
Who can apply for an award?
Accommodation
This includes B&Bs, hotels, guesthouses, inns, restaurants with rooms, farmhouses and more.
Food and drink
Pubs, restaurants, eateries and food providers.
Outdoor
Those delivering engaging experiences with our landscapes and local communities.
Visitor attractions
This includes all of Scotland's attractions that warmly welcome visitors.
Communities
Those working in partnership and collaborations within Scotland's communities.
Events
These include cultural events and festivals, business events and more.
Tour Operators
Scottish-based inbound tour operators and DMCs promoting and selling Scotland to global audiences.
Our headline sponsor
Back for 2026 is our headline sponsor, Abbey - The Destination Experts, part of the Abbey Group. As a leading inbound travel specialist for the UK and Ireland, Abbey - The Destination Experts are the perfect partner to support and amplify the recognition of Scotland’s exceptional tourism offerings.
Rebecca Brooks, Managing Director of Abbey said: "These awards are a fantastic demonstration of excellence in our industry, helping to improve overall quality and standards.
The winners are exemplars in what they do and we know, in our business, how competitive the international environment is and how important it is to continue to drive quality and standards in Scotland, the Thistle Awards support this endeavour."
Our partnerships
News Scotland - national media partner
This year, we are continuing our partnership with News Scotland. News Scotland are publishers of The Times, The Sunday Times and The Scottish Sun.
This partnership will raise the profile of the Scottish Thistle Awards through print and online content. This boosts the profile of the awards, the winners and nominees and encourages businesses to enter.
Press activity from this partnership will appear in a range of publications. This will include Alba, Times Scotland, the Sunday Times and the Scottish Sun. This creates many opportunities to celebrate award participants up to, and including, the awards nights.
STV
We are also continuing our partnership with STV for the 2026 awards.
This partnership helps raise the profile of the Scottish Thistle Awards through digital content including 30 second and 10 second adverts on STV, spotlighting current Thistle Award Winners and encouraging viewers to nominate their favourite Scottish businesses.
You'll also see the Thistle Awards supported online through STV’s social channels including some paid advertising on their LinkedIn channel.
