New Scheme to Inspire Quality Experiences by Scottish Attractions for Visitors from Around the World
Added: 18 Feb 2025
The Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA) is delighted to announce the appointment of Anne Sandilands as Quality Improvement Manager, a key role in shaping and delivering ASVA’s new Quality Scheme. With over 20 years of experience at VisitScotland, Anne brings a wealth of knowledge in quality assurance, visitor experience, and sector engagement, making her highly qualified to drive this industry-led initiative forward.
ASVA’s Quality Scheme, intending to launch in Spring 2025 will set new world-class standards for Scotland’s attractions, providing accessible training, data-driven insights, and marketing support to equip attractions with the tools they need to succeed. This initiative comes in response to the sector’s call for a more relevant, industry-led approach following the retiral of the VisitScotland Quality Assurance Scheme.
Anne has dedicated her career to supporting Scotland’s visitor attractions, most recently as Quality & Tourism Advisor and Visitor Attraction Sector Lead at VisitScotland. Her expertise in quality assessment, best practice development, and industry benchmarking will be instrumental in creating a new, tailored Quality Scheme designed by the industry for the industry.
Speaking about her new role, Anne Sandilands said: “I am excited to begin this new role and work alongside the incredible Scottish Visitor Attraction sector to strengthen our position as a world class destination. I look forward to engaging with attractions of all sizes, listening to their needs, and working collectively to shape a quality scheme that truly reflects the ambition and passion of our sector.”
Welcoming Anne to the team, Michael Golding, CEO of ASVA said: “Anne’s appointment is a milestone moment for ASVA. Her deep understanding of quality standards, visitor engagement, and industry benchmarking will be invaluable in shaping a Quality Scheme that delivers real impact. This is a scheme that has been and will continue to be shaped by the sector, for the sector. With Anne leading the charge, we’re confident it will provide the right support, training, and standards to help Scotland’s attractions continue to deliver world-class visitor experiences.”
From an industry standpoint, Paul Nixon, Chair of ASVA and General Manager of The Real Mary King’s Close, highlighted what this means for attractions: “Measuring quality – whether to enhance the guest experience, track key performance indicators, or support team development; can be challenging. The new ASVA Quality Assurance scheme will support Scottish attractions maintain their world-class standards, ensuring excellence at every stage of the guest journey.”
About the ASVA Quality Scheme
The new ASVA Quality Scheme has been developed in response to industry demand for a programme that truly reflects the needs of Scottish attractions. The scheme will:
- Be open to all attractions, activities, and experience providers, from cultural sites to retail, tours, gardens, and wildlife experiences.
- Set world-class standards, ensuring excellence across the sector.
- Include accessible training, data-driven insights, and marketing support to help attractions enhance visitor experiences and drive growth.
- Operate on a break-even basis, ensuring exceptional value for money.
With Anne Sandilands now appointed, ASVA is committed to creating a transparent, industry-led, and agile scheme and we look forward to increased engagement sessions, sector forums, and industry collaboration led by Anne, ensuring that Scotland’s attractions have a strong voice in shaping the future of quality and visitor experience standards for them.
Get involved
Attractions, industry stakeholders, and partners are encouraged to stay informed and contribute to the development of the scheme.
Join us for our next Quality Scheme Engagement Session, on Tuesday 4th March, open to the wider tourism sector and industry. Register here.
For more information and to follow ASVA’s Quality Scheme journey, click here.
For non-ASVA members, you can sign up for our Quality Scheme mailing list to stay up to date on the latest news, engagement sessions and developments, here.