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Lasting legacies

Lasting Legacies: Orca Action Month 2023

Each June we celebrate Orca Month and the unique community of Southern Resident orcas, and this...
North Atlantic right whale - Peter Flood

Whale AID 2023: A Night of Music and Hope for North Atlantic Right Whales

The inaugural Whale AID concert to support Whale and Dolphin Conservation's (WDC's) work to protect...
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Meet the 2023 Interns: Thomas Zoutis

I'm happy to introduce WDC's first Marine Mammal Conservation Intern of the year, Thomas Zoutis!...
MicrosoftTeams-image (9)

Double Your Impact for Marine Animal Rescue & Response

On a chilly day this past December, the WDC North America team celebrated the first...
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WDC’s Education Wishlist = Cleared!

To the WDC Community, I want to thank you so much for your support of...
Hysazu Photography

Looking forward for Southern Resident orcas in 2023

Hysazu Photography 2022 was a big year for Southern Resident orcas - 2022 brought the...
Credit: Seacoast Science Center

The Unlikely Adventure of Shoebert, a Young Grey Seal Who Visited an Industrial Park Pond

Credit: Seacoast Science Center In mid-September, our stranding partners in northern Massachusetts were inundated with...
Leaping harbour porpoise

The power of harbour porpoise poo

We know we need to save the whale to save the world. Now we are...

What makes a great visitor experience?

As manager of the Scottish Dolphin Centre, I have good reason to ponder this question. It came up again this week as we were awarded a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, an accolade given to establishments who consistently get a high number of outstanding reviews.

What strikes me as interesting is that many of our reviewers didn’t actually spot any dolphins – the main aim for lots of our visitors – but they still had a fantastic day out, speaking to the volunteers who help run the centre, enjoying guided walks and tours, or a bite to eat in the café. It is clearly extremely important to visitors that they are greeted warmly by friendly, enthusiastic and informative staff. Over the past few years we have worked hard on this aspect of our offer with improved training for all staff and volunteers, and this has clearly paid off.

Image Copyright Alex Mitchell

We don’t get it right every time, but reviews and feedback help to highlight our mistakes and how we can improve.

A huge majority of our 90,000 annual visitors are very passionate about Scottish wildlife, including the amazing variety of whales and dolphins that visit these waters. This makes them very open to dropping coins and even notes into the donation box, adopting a dolphin or signing WDC petitions during their visit, including the latest one asking Richard Branson to re-think his position on selling trips to Seaworld. This is precisely why WDC run a visitor centre in this spectacular spot: to enthuse the general public about whales and dolphins and give them a chance to help WDC protect them.

I would like to say a personal thank you to the staff and volunteers who work hard to provide a smile to every visitor who comes through our doors – you are driving our success!