Eight outstanding tourism businesses from across the South West have been shortlisted as finalists in the prestigious VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, three of which are from Cornwall. They will have to wait until 3 June to find out if they have won Gold, Silver or Bronze at the awards ceremony at Aerospace Bristol.
The national awards, which have been championing excellence in England’s tourism industry for more than 35 years, celebrate quality, innovation, best practice and exceptional customer service. Finalists represent the very highest standards across accommodation, attractions, experiences, food and drink, accessibility and business events.
The South West finalists, all of whom started on this journey by entering their respective county awards programmes, are:
Cornwall
- Watergate Bay Hotel – Large Hotel of the Year
- The Story of Emily – New Tourism Business of the Year
- Bosinver Farm Cottages – Self-Catering Accommodation of the Year
Bristol, Bath, Somerset and Gloucestershire
- Flora and Fauna Exmoor – New Tourism Business of the Year
Devon
- One Drake Road and Apartments – B&B and Guest House of the Year
- Clawford Lakes Resort and Spa – Holiday Park of the Year
- Kents Cavern Prehistoric Caves – International Tourism Award
- Bovey Castle – Large Hotel of the Year
The VisitEngland Awards for Excellence are delivered in collaboration with 21 regional competitions across England. These South West businesses are among just 53 finalists selected from 369 winners from local schemes around the country.
Pat Smith, from Bosinver Farm Cottages told us, “As far as our business goes, winning an award wins you respect from industry competitors, is a morale booster for your team, shines a light on what you do well, showcases your product and gives you free publicity. Future customers will use it as a marker of the quality and standards you provide and hopefully choose you over the competition. It’s a win, win situation all round, coupled with being able to give my sparkly posh frock an airing at the glamorous Awards ceremony!”
Andrew Stokes, Director at VisitEngland, said, “These awards honour the very best businesses and individuals in tourism, who are the driving force in an industry that delivers growth to local economies across England. I thank them for their dedicated service, congratulate them on achieving finalist status and wish them every success.”
Entering the local schemes is the only way to progress to the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence. Tourism businesses across the county are now invited to begin their own journey to national recognition and enter the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Tourism Awards. Entries close on 31 May, and links to free online entry can be found here.
