Travelers have voiced their opinions and as a result CIE Tours International, one of the largest escorted coach tour operators in the U.S. and UK, announced its annual UK CIE Awards of Excellence winners at a lunch ceremony in Edinburgh Castle.
In total, 59 CIE Awards of Excellence, which are based entirely on feedback from around 12,000 previous guests, were presented. The winners were chosen from a pool of around 200 accommodation, dining, tours, and attractions providers in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland.
Additionally, merit awards were given to all venues achieving an average score of more than 90% in customer satisfaction. The company also bestowed “Gold awards” in 10 different categories. These awards recognized the best supplier fields from “best accommodation” to “best tour feature.”
“Our awards are well recognized and hugely respected in Ireland,” continued Elizabeth Crabill, “and it is gratifying to see that the same has happened so quickly in the UK. The increase in the number of awards reflects how providers have embraced our quality focus and that overall quality levels are increasing, which is great for our customers and the overall industry.
Our visitors from North America are accustomed to very high levels of service in hospitality and to achieve an above 90% rating from them is very meaningful.”
CIE, which began with tours in Ireland, has expanded in the last three years to include trips through Scotland, England and Wales. The company introduced six new tour itineraries in 2015 with 12 tours featuring the UK only and 16 of its tours combining Scotland and England as well as Ireland – bringing 12,000 visitors to the country and accounting for 100,000 bed nights.
Elizabeth Crabill, Chief Executive Officer of CIE Tours International commented:
“We anticipate that demand for our UK tours will grow considerably this year, demonstrating the significance and growing appeal of Britain’s heritage to visitors.”
Below are the Gold Award Winners in the 10 different categories:
Gold Awards
Best Accommodation Apex Grassmarket, Edinburgh
Best Service and Hospitality Norton House Hotel and Spa, Edinburgh
Best 3* Hotel Fourcroft Hotel, Tenby
Best 4* Hotel Macdonald Windsor Hotel, Windsor
Best 5* Hotel Cameron House on Loch Lomond
Best Tour Feature Leault Working Dog Trials, Kingussie
Best Walking Tour Windsor Tourist Guides Ltd, Windsor
Best Dinner and Entertainment Cardiff Castle Welsh Banquet
Best Special Event The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Best Visit Overall Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
About CIE Tours International
For the past 84 years, CIE Tours International has provided travelers with the highest quality vacation experience. We have held our reputation in the travel industry providing our customers with value, security, reliability, and of course quality satisfaction. Our tour directors are focused to give our passengers the opportunity to learn not only the culture and history of the destinations they are visiting, but also to experience the delights of local food, comfortable transportations, and other amenities to guarantee a first class holiday.
What makes CIE Tours unique in comparison to other tour companies is we truly listen to our customers to understand exactly what they want. All of our tours provide a variety of activities and exciting new attractions; bringing our travelers more options than ever before.
All CIE Tours travel programs are protected by the company’s $550+ Advantage, a no-fee benefit guaranteeing that travelers are never charged for special features considered optional extras with other tour companies.
