VisitEngland Awards 2015 – Opening for Business

The VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2015 are up and running with site visits to potential host venues for the ceremony taking place this month and the Awards website opening for applications on 1^st October. The Awards, which in 2014 celebrated its 25^th anniversary, are the most prestigious awards in English Tourism.

The Awards which champion best practice and raise the profile of England as a world-class destination are delivered by VisitEngland working in partnership and collaboration with destinations and businesses across the country.

“These are exciting times for tourism in England” said James Berresford, Chief Executive of VisitEngland.  “Our research shows that as we come out of recession the trend for taking holidays at home remains strong”.

Of the Awards for Excellence James said “These Awards recognise and celebrate excellence across customer service and the quality of the experience.  Professional people offering friendly service are at the top of our visitors’ requirements when choosing how and where they’ll spend their hard earned cash and leisure time.  They want a clear indication that they are going to have a great experience. The VisitEngland Awards showcase the very best England has to offer and give winners a distinct USP in promoting their businesses”.

“We work closely in association with local and regional competitions across England providing routes for their winners into the national competition and offer direct entries where there are no local competitions or relevant categories available. Working together we are helping to inspire and motivate businesses to become the best in the industry”. 

The 2015 Awards will be open for applications from 1st October with the launch of the new-look Awards website www.visitenglandawards.org providing details of regional competitions or how to apply directly.

An aspect that sets the VisitEngland Awards apart and underpins its position as the leading tourism awards for England is the feedback reports that each entrant receives from the Awards Assessors. The 2015 Awards will be open from October 2014 until 9^th January 2015. The 2014 Awards attracted 368 entries resulting in 82 gold, silver, bronze and highly commended awards.   

Ends

The VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2015 logo and a photograph of James Berresford, Chief Executive of VisitEngland are attached.

For more information or to set up interviews contact:

Angelah Sparg, Corporate Communications Manager Tel: 02075781482, Email: [email protected] or Sarah Long, Head of Corporate Communications Tel: 020 7578 1452, Mob: 07500555651, Email: [email protected]  Website:  www.visitengland.org

About VisitEngland

• VisitEngland is the country’s national tourist board. We work in partnership with the industry to develop the visitor experience across England, plan national tourism strategy, grow the value of tourism in England and provide advocacy for the industry and our visitors.  Our work is underpinned by robust research and customer insights. You can access the latest in-depth market intelligence and statistics on www.visitengland.org/insight-statistics.
• England is a unique destination and a real powerhouse in global tourism. It represents 84 per cent of the total UK visitor economy, is worth £106 billion, and supports 2.6 million jobs.
• For corporate information see www.visitengland.org and for consumer information see www.visitengland.com.

About the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2015

• The VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2015 celebrate the best of English tourism. They promote healthy industry competition and high standards, helping to ensure England's place as a world-class destination. www.visitenglandawards.org.
• The 18 categories for the 2015 awards include: Access for All Tourism Award, Bed & Breakfast / Guest Accommodation of the Year, Business Tourism Award, Holiday Park / Holiday Village of the Year, Large Hotel of the Year, Large Visitor Attraction of the Year, Self-Catering Holiday Provider of the Year, Small Hotel of the Year, Small Visitor Attraction of the Year, Sustainable Tourism Award, Taste of England Award, Tourism Event of the Year, Tourism Experience of the Year, Tourism Pub of the Year, Visitor Information Provider of the Year.
• Included in the 18 categories are the additional Awards of Tourism Superstar, Travel Article of the Year and Outstanding Contribution to Tourism.  The Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award will be announced on the night.  Previous winners of this award have included The Great English Pub, Michael Eavis CBE, HM The Queen, the Harry Potter films, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Sir Paul McCartney, Liverpool, The National Trust, the English Garden, 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Makers and last year The Travel Agent.