TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, has awarded ‘TripAdvisor Certificates of Excellence’ to seven Manx National Heritage sites for 2015. Certificate of Excellence recipients represent the top 10 percent of businesses listed on the site.

The seven Manx National Heritage sites – Peel Castle, the Manx Museum, Castle Rushen, the Nautical Museum, Laxey Wheel, Cregneash and the House of Manannan will be displaying the Certificate of Excellence as well as uploading a copy of the award to the review pages of the website.

The TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence programme, now in its fifth year, honours select accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently demonstrate a commitment to hospitality excellence.

The Certificate of Excellence award is given to outstanding businesses that have received praise and recognition in reviews by TripAdvisor travellers. Winners of the award range from one-room bed & breakfasts to 6000-room hotels, from bakeries to Michelin star restaurants and hidden attractions to world-renowned parks and museums.

When selecting Certificate of Excellence winners, TripAdvisor uses a proprietary algorithm to determine the honourees that take into account the quality, quantity and timing of reviews and opinions submitted by travellers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period as well as business’s tenure and ranking on the Popularity Index on the site. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.

President of TripAdvisor for Business Marc Charron said:

"By putting a spotlight on businesses that are focused on delivering great service to customers, TripAdvisor not only helps drive an improvement to hospitality standards around the world, but also gives businesses both large and small the ability to shine and stand out from the competition.

Edmund Southworth, Director, Manx National Heritage, commented:

“This is an important award as it reflects the customer’s experience at our sites and is a tribute to the hard work that is put in not only by the customer facing staff but also by the team behind the scenes who work so hard to maintain the visitor experience. These are heritage sites with particular challenges such as their age and access which makes it even more of an achievement.”

He continued:

“We love to get feedback from our visitors and this type of unsolicited positive endorsement is a useful marketing tool for us as we look to promote the Isle of Man and its attractions to a wider audience as well as highlighting to local residents what they have on their doorstep.”