A cruise based on Loch Lomond has been recognised as the best in the UK in a national award.

Cruise Loch Lomond has been rated the 'Best Overall Loch Cruise in the UK' by more than 10,000 tourists.

The award was given by Irish coach tour operator, CIE Tours, which recognises the quality of the UK’s hotels and visitor attractions by giving an Award of Excellence to those who have received a greater than 90 per cent customer satisfaction rating over the previous year.

The company gives special recognition to the best-performing tourism provider in 12 categories.

Since the 1990’s, CIE Tours’ offerings have included Scotland and the rest of the UK, with combination tours of Scotland/UK and Ireland becoming some of the most popular in recent years.

In 2022, demand for combined tours of Scotland and Ireland exceeded other destinations, reaching 2019 levels and 2023 is already on course to exceed this benchmark.

Stephen Cotter, chief operations officer of CIE Tours, said: “We are delighted to report a strong recovery in our Scottish and UK tours since international travel re-opened following the pandemic.

"I want to acknowledge the resilience of our tourism partners who, having had a very difficult few years, enthusiastically welcomed back our visitors once restrictions were lifted. Their professionalism is reflected in the feedback from our visitors with overall satisfaction levels in 2022 only slightly less than 2019, despite a very challenging year for travel.

“We are very encouraged by the pipeline of bookings for the coming year, particularly in Scotland, which are ahead of expectations, and we look forward to ensuring that our partners and our host communities continue to benefit from our success in attracting visitors to travel to Scotland and the rest of the UK.”