Tourism awards launch and national success

The Tourism Awards in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset, Bristol and Bath & Somerset (incorporating Wiltshire and Gloucestershire) are now open.

The awards are free to enter and last year’s participants said they were invaluable; great for business, staff morale, recruitment, networking and the free feedback given was a brilliant tool to enable them to get even better. 

There are awards for accommodation, food and drink, wedding and business venues, unsung heroes, dog friendly, new business, accessibility, sustainability as well as events, experiences, visitor information, attractions and new for this year is an International Tourism Award.  Businesses are encouraged to enter as many categories as they are eligible for.

A series of online workshops are being held to help businesses produce their best entry and can be booked here.

Robin Barker, awards director, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for those working in tourism and hospitality to raise their profile and get recognition for all their hard work." 

Different schemes run in the region and this is the link for CORNWALL AND ISLES OF SCILLY 

 Entries must be submitted online by Sunday 23rd June.

The launch coincides with VisitEngland’s announcement of the national 2024 Finalists and we offer our Congratulations to the 9 successful nominees from the South West. The awards will be presented at the Rum Warehouse at The Titanic Hotel Liverpool on 5 June. 

The successful South West nominees, all of them winners in the South West Tourism Excellence Awards in March, are:

• Small Hotel of the Year: THE PIG-at Harlyn Bay, Cornwall www.thepighotel.com/at-harlyn-bay
• Self Catering Accommodation of the Year: My Cottages in St Ives, Cornwall www.mycottagesinstives.co.uk, Sleepy Owl Devon, Devon www.sleepyowldevon.co.uk
• B&B and Guest House of the Year: Bossington Hall, Somerset www.bossingtonhall.co.uk
• New Tourism Business of the Year: Sleepy Owl Devon, Devon www.sleepyowldevon.co.uk
• Pub of the Year: The Acorn Inn, Dorset www.acorn-inn.co.uk , The Peterville Inn, Cornwall www.thepetervilleinn.co.uk
• Small Visitor Attraction of the Year: Nothe Fort (operated by Weymouth Civic Society), Dorset www.nothefort.org.uk
• Large Visitor Attraction of the Year: WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre, Gloucestershire www.wwt.org.uk/slimbridge

The national awards, now in its 34th year, will see the finalists from 16 regional competitions recognised as Gold, Silver and Bronze winners across 15 core categories. There were more than 1730 applications from the 16 aligned regional competitions who were automatically entered into the national awards.

VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said: “The VisitEngland Awards for Excellence showcase England’s outstanding tourism products and the innovation and creativity thriving within the industry. The awards also acknowledge the people and businesses that work so hard to provide visitors with world-class tourism experiences, delivering exceptional customer service time-after-time.”