Alastair Watson, Co-Founder and Director at Can You Escape?, has been nominated and is a finalist in the Regional Rising Star category at the upcoming Visit Scotland Thistle Awards. The category celebrates people under the age of 30 who show promise in the tourism industry and a passion for their future and tourism in Scotland. 

Can You Escape? is a real life escape game, where teams of 2 – 10 people are ‘locked’ in a room for 60 minutes and faced with a range of challenges, puzzles and riddles to solve. Similar to the recent 90s revival, the Crystal Maze. The business has two venues, one in Edinburgh (5 Holyrood Road) and one in York (Micklegate), and has won a range of awards over the last two years including Best Family Day Out (2015 and short listed in 2016), Best Performing Small Business and has also received TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence. 

Alastair Watson said: “It’s a real honour to have been nominated in the awards, as well as a bit of a surprise! When I set up Can You Escape two years ago, it was a bit of a leap of faith and step into the unknown. Although there’s been many challenges along the way, it’s been an incredible journey. I’m really proud of the team we’ve put together who deliver fun, immersive missions for all of our customers and I’m looking forward to an exciting future for the company.” 

Can You Escape? has received funding and support from a range of organisations including ScotEdge and Business Gateway. Both organisations have been instrumental in the development and support the organisation has received.

The awards ceremony will take place on 10th November at Prestonfield House.