VisitEngland has announced the winners of its annual Awards for Excellence 2023, celebrating the tourism industry’s brightest stars. The 20 Gold Award winners were announced at an evening ceremony on 7 June hosted by Alex Polizzi at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, in categories ranging from ‘Small Visitor Attraction of the Year’ and ‘B&B and Guest House of the Year’ to ‘Business Events Venue of the Year’ and ‘Experience of the Year.’
The Gold, Silver and Bronze winners were selected from hundreds of tourism businesses across England including hotels, self-catering accommodation, B&Bs, glamping operators, attractions, restaurants, pubs and museums.
The prestigious VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, running for more than 30 years and in 2023 sponsored by the Caravan and Motorhome Club, celebrate and champion innovation, quality and best practice across the industry recognising businesses and individuals who raise the bar of England’s tourism offer.
VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said: “It is fantastic to come together as an industry to celebrate our world-class tourism businesses. Competition this year was fierce with customer service excellence evident across every category, thanks to the passion and dedication of individuals.
“From an outdoor theatre in Suffolk to a boutique B&B in Essex, from an arboretum museum in Staffordshire, a zoo farm in Bristol, to island boat tours in Northumberland, this year’s awards also showcase the wonderful range of quality tourism products on offer across England. “I congratulate all the winners and especially those who won Gold, an achievement cementing their place as the country’s crème de la crème, standard-bearers for England’s tourism industry.”
In addition to the 16 core categories award winners, four special awards were also presented this year including an ‘Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award,’ a ‘Travel Content Award’, a ‘Tourism Superstar Award’ and a ‘TXGB Trailblazer Award’.
The Tourism Superstar Award went to Geoff Colvin. Geoff, a volunteer stationmaster at the Kent and East Sussex Railway, was the winner of the VisitEngland Tourism Superstar 2023 run in partnership with the Mirror, following a public vote and competition earlier this year. The Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award went to ‘England’s Coast’ in recognition of its valuable role in boosting domestic and inbound tourism to England.
The Travel Content Award, which recognises the media’s important contribution in championing domestic tourism, was won by Alicia Miller of The Independent with her story ‘How to do a classic Cotswolds weekend, car-free.’ The TXGB Trailblazer Award went to Red Funnel, Isle of Wight, in recognition of its efforts in driving inbound bookings through the business-to-business platform, also benefitting the domestic market.
Tourism is one of England’s largest and most valuable industries, supporting hundreds of thousands of businesses, employing about 2.6 million people and, in 2019, generating £76 billion in domestic visitor spending.
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