The Royal Yacht Britannia has been rated Scotland's best visitor attraction for each of the last ten years, tourism bosses announced.

VisitScotland said the yacht "set the standards for tourism in Scotland" as it awarded the attraction a record score of 96%, the highest mark ever awarded.

It comes as the tourism body released their ratings for 2015. Tourism businesses are assessed on the welcome, attitude, knowledge and efficiency of staff, as well as audience level, interpretation, maintenance and cleanliness.

With 308,906 visitors in 2015, The Royal Yacht announced 2015 as its busiest since its opening year in 1999. Almost five million people have visited The Queen's former floating palace since it opened in Edinburgh in 1998.

Bob Downie, Britannia's chief executive, said: "To be the best in Scotland once is a fantastic achievement, but to do this for ten consecutive years is a phenomenal tribute to our staff who go the extra mile to ensure that all our visitors have a great experience when they visit Britannia.

"The true test of any great organisation is consistency of performance, delivering great value for time and money, year in year out, and there is no doubt that our pioneering approach to providing great customer experiences has underpinned our success."

Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of VisitScotland, hailed the ten-year-streak as "a real testament" to the yacht's staff.

He said: "I'd like to congratulate Britannia on this fantastic achievement, which demonstrates an outstanding commitment to quality and excellence in every aspect of the business.

"Retaining the accolade of Scotlands best attraction for ten years running, Britannia is setting the standards for tourism in Scotland, and it is a real testament to the total commitment shown by their staff to consistently deliver a world leading customer experience."

Britannia was used by The Queen and the Royal Family for over 40 years, sailing more than one million miles around the world. Following its decommissioning in 1997, Britannia is now berthed in Leith, Edinburgh.