John Dean – Crime Writer

The importance of books to the Scottish economy was underlined when a major  tourism award was awarded to the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

The 2025 Scottish Thistle Awards National Final, whose winners are pictured here, shone a spotlight on Scotland’s tourism offering with events and festivals well represented throughout the evening.   

After winning the Regional Final for Central and East, Edinburgh International Book Festival was crowned champions in the Outstanding Cultural Event or Festival category. 

Among other winners was the cycling event Tour of Britain – Scottish Borders, which secured the Outstanding Sporting Event category. Both events were supported by EventScotland.

Other events to win awards included DF Concerts and Events, who won the Inclusion Award for their work on the TRNSMT Festival in Glasgow, while the Best Business Event award went to The 36th International Papillomavirus Conference 2024 at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

All in all, there were nineteen awards and more information can be found at https://www.visitscotland.org/

Picture © VisitScotland / Connor Mollison