Marine aquarium picks up top award
Attraction praised for innovation
Published:
A POPULAR north-east aquarium that attracts more than 50,000 visitors a year has scooped a major new tourism award.
Macduff Marine Aquarium staff were presented with the award for best visitor experience yesterday by the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions.
At the group’s conference at Dunblane Hydro, the aquarium was praised for “excellence in the planning and consistent delivery” of outstanding experiences for visitors.
Last year, the Aberdeenshire Council-run aquarium, which opened in 1997, scored a double success at the annual Northern Lights Tourism Awards.
It was recognised for visitor experience and innovation for the introduction of a live camera link to the Troup Head bird sanctuary near Gardenstown.
The aquarium drew praise from the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions’ Eva McDairmid.
She said: “Aberdeenshire Council has worked hard to make the marine aquarium an exciting, entertaining and educational attraction.
“It promotes awareness, enjoyment and stewardship of the Moray Firth marine environment.”
Numerous varieties of fish are kept at the aquarium and the living kelp reef in the central tank is the only one of its kind in Britain.
A major attraction for visitors is feeding time at the main tank, when divers go into the water with food.
