MEDIA PARTNERSHIP

News Scotland partners with VisitScotland to help promote the 2026 Scottish Thistle Awards

The Scottish Thistle Awards are excited to have partnered with News Scotland, publisher of The Times and Sunday Times Scotland and The Scottish Sun to provide the perfect platform to celebrate and drive awareness of the Scottish tourism and events industry. With features and supplements such as Alba, Scotland and the Best, and Sun Travel, News Scotland offers the ideal platforms to raise the profile of the Scottish Thistle Awards and what they mean to Scotland’s tourism industry.

News Scotland as a brand has the benefit of being able to deliver new tourism and leisure content through this partnership which will be of interest to audiences in Scotland and beyond. It is our joint ambition to help the tourism and leisure industry in Scotland, for both service providers and Scottish holidaymakers alike. The mutually beneficial partnership will allow News Scotland and VisitScotland to maximise opportunities around content, marketing and networking, showcasing what tourism can offer consumers, businesses and the wider economic community.

Entering your business into any of the regional or national categories of the Scottish Thistle Awards will give you the opportunity to receive national media coverage allowing you to celebrate your success and hard work in front of a potential audience of 3 million adults a month across the Times, Sunday Times and the Scottish Sun.

The 2025 partnership culminated in a 8-page supplement featuring dedicated content on all national winners.

We are delighted to be working with VisitScotland as media partners for the Scottish Thistle Awards – the pinnacle of recognition for the Scottish tourism and hospitality sector. Readers of our Scottish products – The Scottish Sun, The Times Scotland and The Sunday Times Scotland – love to travel in Scotland for long and short breaks. We look forward to joining VisitScotland in celebrating the industry in the run up to the awards over the coming year, and beyond.

Richard Bogie, Managing Director of News Scotland

The Scottish Thistle Awards shine the spotlight on the very best of Scotland’s tourism industry. Working with the well-known titles within the News Scotland group will help raise the profile of Scotland’s premier tourism awards and celebrate the enormous contribution the tourism and events industry makes to Scotland’s economy and beyond.

Barbara Smith, VisitScotland Board member and Chair of the Scottish Thistle Awards Industry Panel