The people, businesses and events helping drive the North-east’s £1.3billion visitor economy have been celebrated at the Aberdeen City and Shire Thistle Awards - which were presented at a sell-out ceremony at The Chester Hotel in Aberdeen on Friday September 18.
From a young events professional at the beginning of his career to one of the biggest events Aberdeen has hosted in decades, this year’s winners reflect the remarkable breadth of the visitor economy across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
Among the individual winners was Stuart Rattray of Glen Tanar, who was named winner of The MacRobert Trust Rising Star Award. The Banchory-raised events graduate studied Festival and Event Management during the Covid pandemic and wrote his university dissertation on Aberdeenshire’s potential as an events destination. After initially struggling to find his first professional role when the industry was emerging from the pandemic, he is now helping deliver the very kind of events he once studied, with bookings at Glen Tanar increasing by 150% during his time there.
Alan Findlater of Luxe Scot was named Individual of the Year after judges heard how an unexpected hotel-suite upgrade during a family holiday helped shape his belief in the power of exceptional service. A painter and decorator by trade, he went on to build a career in tourism and today manages complex transport, logistics and visitor experiences for major events and high-profile visitors, while remaining committed to the simple principle of making every guest feel important.
There was a double celebration for Tall Ships Aberdeen 2025, which won both Outstanding Cultural Event or Festival and the Inclusion Award, while Logie Newton Lodges also collected two awards.
Stephen Gow, Chairman of the Aberdeen City and Shire Thistle Awards, says: “This is a night when we get to put the spotlight firmly on the people and businesses which make tourism in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire what it is.
“Our winners range from some of the region’s best-known hotels, attractions and events to small independent businesses, volunteers and individuals building careers in the industry. “What connects them is the quality of the experience they create and their determination to keep making it better.
“The visitor economy is worth around £1.3 billion annually to Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, but behind that very large figure are thousands of individual interactions. It is the welcome at reception, the guide who brings a story to life, the chef championing local produce, the volunteer helping a visitor find their way, the person coming up with a new idea or the young employee being given the opportunity to build a career here.
“Our finalists and winners are the people making those things happen every day, and tonight is about recognising their contribution.”
2026 ABERDEEN CITY AND SHIRE THISTLE AWARD WINNERS
The MacRobert Trust Rising Star Award
Stuart Rattray – Glen Tanar
Sponsored by The MacRobert Trust
Individual of the Year
Alan Findlater – Luxe Scot
Sponsored by Leonardo Hotels
Employer of the Year
Hilton & Aloft Aberdeen TECA Hotels
Sponsored by CLR Ltd
Outstanding Cultural Event or Festival
Tall Ships Aberdeen 2025
Sponsored by Alliance Online
Innovation Award
TwinPeakes Fly Fishing
Inclusion Award
Tall Ships Aberdeen 2025
Climate Action Award
National Trust for Scotland – Birks Pond at Castle Fraser
Sponsored by One Stop Waste
Best Community Tourism & Events Initiative
Welcome to Aberdeenshire Volunteer Programme
Sponsored by NorthLink Ferries
Best Visitor Attraction Experience
Glen Garioch Distillery
Sponsored by Caber Coffee
Best Self Catering or Exclusive Use
Logie Newton Lodges
Best Outdoor or Adventure
Farm Stop
Sponsored by P&J Live
Best Hotel Experience
Maryculter House
Sponsored by Fishers
Best Eating Experience
The Clunie Dining Room – The Fife Arms
Sponsored by The Full Range and Brakes Scotland
Best Bar or Pub
The Craftsman Company
Sponsored by Shepherd and Wedderburn
Best Accommodation or Unique Stay
Logie Newton Lodges
Sponsored by Aberdeen City and Shire Hotels' Association
Behind this year’s results are stories which demonstrate just how varied a career – and a business – in the north-east visitor economy can be.
For MacRobert Trust Rising Star Stuart Rattray, the award represents a remarkable few years from studying events during one of the most difficult periods the industry has experienced to establishing himself in the sector he was determined to join.
The Banchory-raised graduate studied Festival and Event Management at Edinburgh Napier University during the Covid pandemic, when opportunities to gain practical experience were severely limited. After graduating he initially struggled to find work in events and spent time in retail before securing a position at Glen Tanar.
In just over two years he has helped reshape its weddings and events business, contributing to a reported 150% increase in bookings. There is a particularly satisfying symmetry to his success: his university dissertation explored Aberdeenshire’s potential as an events destination. Today he is building his career helping to realise that potential.
Individual of the Year Alan Findlater followed a very different route into tourism.
A painter and decorator by trade, Alan credits a family holiday in Tenerife with changing the direction of his working life. An unexpected upgrade to a hotel suite and the exceptional personal service his family received left a lasting impression and helped shape the philosophy he later brought to Luxe Scotland: that people remember how they are made to feel.
Luxe Scotland now provides transport, logistics and visitor services for major events and high-profile guests, with Alan and his team having supported major golf tournaments and visits involving international stars and VIPs including LeBron James and President Donald Trump. Judges also heard that his approach remains distinctly hands-on.
Elsewhere, the awards produced some equally memorable stories.
At Castle Fraser, the National Trust for Scotland's Climate Action Award-winning Birks Pond project has created new habitat for the endangered Northern Damselfly. Detailed research, peat surveys and expert collaboration went into creating the conditions in which the species could thrive.
Tall Ships Aberdeen 2025 emerged as one of the biggest winners of the evening, taking two awards for an event which brought Aberdeen’s maritime heritage spectacularly back to the forefront.
Its Inclusion Award recognised an approach in which accessibility was embedded in planning from the outset. Accessibility experts, charities, volunteers and people with lived experience helped shape the event, with quiet spaces, accessible transport, communication support, Makaton storytelling and inclusive volunteering among the measures introduced.
For Logie Newton Cottages, the evening brought the unusual achievement of two category wins.
The sixth-generation family farm diversification has developed a distinctive rural tourism offering where guests can bring considerably more than the family dog. The accommodation has been designed to allow visitors to holiday with their horses, with paddocks, stabling and more than 10km of trails alongside its dog-friendly facilities and views towards Bennachie.
Twin Peakes Fly Fishing demonstrated another way in which small tourism businesses are finding new opportunities for the region. Its Innovation Award recognised work to challenge the traditional seasonality of fishing tourism and attract visitors during quieter periods. The family business recorded 51% year-on-year growth, hosting 548 guests across 212 fishing days, while broadening participation through experiences for women, families, older guests and people requiring additional support.
People were also at the centre of the Welcome to Aberdeenshire Volunteer Programme, winner of Best Community Tourism & Events Initiative.
Local residents give their own time to welcome visitors and share their knowledge and enthusiasm for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. Judges were particularly struck by the benefits flowing in both directions: as well as improving the visitor welcome, the programme has created friendships, social connections and a strong sense of purpose among its volunteers.
Stephen Gow added: “One of the great privileges of judging these awards is discovering the stories which visitors themselves may never see. They won't necessarily know about the years of work behind a conservation project, the young person who had to fight to get their first opportunity in the industry, the volunteers giving up their own time or the business quietly finding a completely new way to bring visitors to Aberdeenshire.
“Those stories matter because collectively they show an industry which is ambitious, innovative and deeply rooted in its communities. We are enormously proud of all our finalists. Reaching the final is a significant achievement in itself and our judges had some extremely difficult decisions to make this year.”
The Aberdeen City and Shire Thistle Awards remain free to enter and use a rigorous judging process which includes incognito visits to many customer-facing finalists and face-to-face interviews in individual and selected other categories.
Stephen Gow said the support of the awards’ sponsors was critical to maintaining that approach.
“Our sponsors allow us to keep the Aberdeen City and Shire Thistle Awards free to enter while undertaking a judging process which looks beyond the written entry to the experience businesses actually deliver.
“They also make it possible for us to bring the industry together for this celebration. Their commitment is an important investment in the people and businesses which underpin tourism across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.”
For further information about the Aberdeen City and Shire Thistle Awards visit www.acsta.co.uk.