The Roman Baths have been rated by visitors as one of the UK’s best tourism attractions for the third year in a row.
Tourists travelling with Dublin-based coach holiday firm CIE Tours International awarded the Roman Baths one of the company’s coveted UK Merit Awards of Excellence for the quality of its visitor experience.
The baths, which are managed by Bath & North East Somerset Council, were one of only seven visitor attractions in England to win a prestigious CIE award – also on the list were Windsor Castle and The Tower of London. 
Every year, CIE Tours asks its thousands of clients to pick the best hotels, restaurants, visitor attractions and events that they have experienced on their tours, which cover the whole of Ireland and the UK, as well as further afield.
The small number that receive an overall mark of 90% or more are given a UK Merit Award of Excellence in the CIE Awards – known in Ireland as the ‘Tourism Oscars’.
The award reflects the council’s commitment to keeping the Roman Baths as a must-see for visitors by making improvements such as innovative interpretation; helping people to imagine life in Roman Bath, conservation that improves the look of the monument and protects it for future generations, and a wide range of access measures including new lifts and inclusive interpretation.
Cabinet member for sustainable development Cllr Ben Stevens said: “Only a small number of visitor attractions in the British Isles achieve this rare Award of Excellence each year so we’re delighted to have won it three times now and I’m immensely proud of the Roman Baths team.
“We value this award highly as it reflects the views of a huge number of our overseas visitors. It shows that Bath & North East Somerset Council’s on-going investment in the Roman Baths is continuing to improve the experience and give our visitors a truly excellent day out.”
The UK Merit Award of Excellence was presented to the Roman Baths at an awards ceremony held last week in Glasgow.
CIE Tours brought 11,000 visitors to the UK in 2013 and is anticipating an increase of 35% this year. The company is working with 259 tourism partners in the UK – 79 of them hotels and 180 visitor attractions.
CIE Tours International managing director Brian Stack said: “Our Merit Awards recognise that our continued growth is due to the efforts of thousands of people up and down the country – such as the Roman Baths team – who are focused on providing excellent service.”
Pictured: Patricia Dunlop, left, and Ellen Matthews, right, of the Roman Baths, receiving the award from CIE Tours International managing director Brian Stack
