Spring sunshine welcomed the first Glamis Castle visitors of the 2013 season in what the attraction hopes will be a positive omen for a bright tourism year.
A combination of factors presented the 600-year-old family seat of the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne with a challenging 2012 but castle director David Broadfoot said the mood going into this year and beyond is one of optimism.
“Last year we had the five ducks in a row of the recession, the euro crisis, the weather, the Olympics which turned the tourism tap off in Scotland and the fact that Americans traditionally don’t travel in numbers during an election year.
“It all made for a pretty challenging time, but the Glamis performance in comparison with other heritage tourism sites was still very good.
“It’s led to us revisiting how we do business and we have made a number of significant changes, all aimed at helping us lead the field,” Mr Broadfoot said.
“The big news is that we now have award-winning Wilde Thyme as the castle caterers and they have transformed the restaurant here at Glamis.
“We have raised the bar at a five-star location with a five-star caterer.”
Angus will also take a prime place in the nation’s 2014 Homecoming programme with the announcement this week that VisitScotland will be backing an event scheduled for July at the castle to be known as The Spirit of Glamis.
“We’re delighted to be part of that and have many ideas being worked on to make the event a massive success. But we also have a lot of very exciting things happening at Glamis Castle throughout this year,” Mr Broadfoot added.