Five star backing for official Tattoo shop

The official shop of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has struck all the right notes for quality under the national tourism organisation's customer experience scheme.

People queue for tickets to the Edinburgh Tattoo preview performance. Picture; Jane Barlow

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The annual military spectacle’s official store, located in Edinburgh, has been upgraded from a four to five star visitor attraction, the highest accolade in VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance scheme.

Earlier this year the shop was relocated to a Category B-listed building on Cockburn Street, the same building originally occupied by the Tattoo in the 1970s and 1980s. Offering a wide range of Tattoo memorabilia, including scarfs, DVDs and exclusive Tattoo tartan products, it is also the hub for all Tattoo event information and ticket sales.

Last year the showcase included a cast of more than 1,200 performers playing to an audience of 220,000 with tickets now on sale at the store for this year’s performances.

The VisitScotland five star grading ensures that all areas of the attraction have an exceptional level of quality, from the strength of the website to the presentation of the building and layout.

Brigadier David Allfrey, Producer and Chief Executive of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, said: “What a fabulous prize! We so work hard to make our show the best it can be and this absolutely includes our fantastic new shop. Edinburgh’s retail offer is hugely competitive and it is wonderful to be recognised by VisitScotland. It is huge fun to have so many people from all over the world coming to our new place. We are all so looking forward to 2017, our own show ‘Splash of Tartan’ and what we hope will hope be another extraordinary year for Scottish tourism in the round.”

Manuela Calchini, Regional Director at VisitScotland, said: “The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is a spectacular event in the capital’s festival calendar and we are delighted to award the attraction’s official store with our highest accolade for quality. As the shop face of a major highlight in the summer festival season, it is important that customers experience the same top-class service as visitors to the esplanade, and the new premises is a wonderful extension of the stunning visitor attraction.

“Our Quality Assurance scheme is world-leading and provides a trusted, independent and impartial source of information for visitors. It is about much more than just a star rating – it is about the entire visitor experience and investing in the business to make it as economically sustainable, and profitable, as it can be.”

Developed and improved for over 30 years, the Quality Assurance scheme is delivered by a dedicated team of experts who offer valuable business advice and support.