VisitEngland’s Awards for Excellence 2024 event shines the spotlight on quality
The annual VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2024 took place at the Rum Warehouse, Titanic Hotel Liverpool on Wednesday 5 June 2024.
The black-tie event was attended by more than 200 guests and hosted by VisitEngland Chairman, Lady Victoria Borwick.
Winners from across the 19 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’ celebrated their awards at the evening event.
VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said:
“The VisitEngland Awards for Excellence highlight the unparalleled quality on offer across England and the event this year saw the crème de la crème in our industry come together to celebrate our world-class tourism businesses. Competition was fierce with customer service excellence evident across every category, thanks to the passion and dedication of individuals.
“From a wizard walk in York to a boutique hotel in East Sussex, a glamping site in Lancashire, a dinosaur adventure park in Norfolk, to a distillery in the Cotswolds, this year’s awards also showcased the wonderful range of quality tourism products available across the country.
“I congratulate all Gold, Silver and Bronze winners on their achievement cementing their place as standard-bearers for England’s tourism industry.”
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, forwarded to the national competition via 16 local and regional competitions across England.
Alex Polizzi, Channel 5s The Hotel Inspector, hosted the evening and Alan Dedicoat the voice of the BBC’s National Lottery and Strictly Come Dancing, provided the lowdown on each of the finalists.
The VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, running for more 35 years and 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.
In addition to the 15 core categories award winners, four special awards were also presented including the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award,’ the ‘Travel Content Award’, the ‘Tourism Superstar Award’ and the ‘TXGB Trailblazer Award’.
This year’s Outstanding Contribution to Tourism award went to the hosts of the hugely successful 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, The City of Liverpool.
Tourism is one of England’s largest, most valuable industries, supporting 200,000+ businesses, employing about 2.6 million people and, in 2023, generating £70.2bn in domestic visitor spending.
VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2024 winners:
Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award:
GOLD – Hoe Grange Holidays, Derbyshire www.hoegrangeholidays.co.uk
SILVER – ROARR! Norfolk www.roarr.co.uk
BRONZE – Colchester Castle, Essex www.colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/visit/colchester-castle
B&B and Guest House of the Year:
GOLD – The Bosham Boathouse B&B, West Sussex www.theboshamboathouse.co.uk
SILVER – MonkBridge House, North Yorkshire www.monkbridgehouseyork.com
BRONZE – Bossington Hall, Somerset www.bossingtonhall.co.uk
Business Events Venue of the Year:
GOLD – Telford International Centre, Shropshire www.tictelford.com
SILVER – Warwick Conferences, West Midlands www.warwickconferences.com
BRONZE – Winter Gardens Blackpool, Lancashire www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk
Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year:
GOLD – The Secret Garden Glamping, Lancashire www.thesecretgardenglamping.uk
SILVER – Kits Coty Glamping, Kent www.kitscotyglamping.co.uk
BRONZE – Darwin Forest Lodges, Derbyshire www.darwinforest.co.uk
Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award sponsored by Sykes Holiday Cottages:
GOLD – Mill Farm Eco Barns, Norfolk www.millfarm-ecobarns.co.uk
SILVER – Kent Wildlife Trust, Kent www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk
BRONZE – The Yan at Broadrayne, Cumbria www.theyan.co.uk
Experience of the Year sponsored by the Caravan and Motorhome Club:
GOLD – Grey Seal & Seabird Cruise, Serenity Farne Island Boat Tours, Northumberland www.farneislandstours.co.uk
SILVER – York Ghost Walk, The Deathly Dark Tours, North Yorkshire www.deathlydarktours.com
BRONZE – Mountain Bike Taster Day, Pure Outdoor, Derbyshire www.pureoutdoor.co.uk
Large Hotel of the Year:
GOLD – The Grand, York, North Yorkshire www.thegrandyork.co.uk
SILVER – Hope Street Hotel, Merseyside www.hopestreethotel.co.uk
BRONZE – Rockliffe Hall Hotel, County Durham www.rockliffehall.com
Small Hotel of the Year:
GOLD – The Gallivant, East Sussex www.thegallivant.co.uk
SILVER – Wildhive Callow Hall, Derbyshire www.wildhive.uk
BRONZE – THE PIG-at Harlyn Bay, Cornwall www.thepighotel.com/at-harlyn-bay
New Tourism Business of the Year:
GOLD – The Wizard Walk of York, North Yorkshire www.wizardwalkofyork.com
SILVER – Sleepy Owl Devon, Devon www.sleepyowldevon.co.uk
BRONZE – Boys Hall, Kent www.boys-hall.com
Pub of the Year:
GOLD – The Peterville Inn, Cornwall www.thepetervilleinn.co.uk
SILVER – The Acorn Inn, Dorset www.acorn-inn.co.uk
BRONZE – The Red Fox, Merseyside www.brunningandprice.co.uk/redfox
Self Catering Accommodation of the Year sponsored by Sykes Holiday Cottages:
GOLD – Sleepy Owl Devon, Devon www.sleepyowldevon.co.uk
SILVER – My Cottages in St Ives, Cornwall www.mycottagesinstives.co.uk
BRONZE – Bethnal&Bec, Hertfordshire www.bethnalandbec.com
Small Visitor Attraction of the Year sponsored by Virgin Experience Days:
GOLD – Nothe Fort, Dorset www.nothefort.org.uk
SILVER – Cotswolds Distillery, Warwickshire www.cotswoldsdistillery.com
BRONZE – The Battle of Britain Memorial, Kent www.battleofbritainmemorial.org
Taste of England Award:
GOLD – Allium at Askham Hall, Cumbria www.askhamhall.co.uk
SILVER – Blackfriars Restaurant, Tyne & Wear www.blackfriarsrestaurant.co.uk
BRONZE – La Locanda, Lancashire www.lalocanda.co.uk*
Large Visitor Attraction of the Year:
GOLD – WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre, Gloucestershire www.wwt.org.uk/slimbridge
SILVER – Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, Hertfordshire www.wbstudiotour.co.uk
BRONZE – ROARR! Norfolk www.roarr.co.uk
Unsung Hero Award:
GOLD – Katie Calder, V-ATE Automotive Smokehouse and Bowl, Lincolnshire
GOLD – Duncan Wise, Northumberland National Park Authority, Northumberland
SILVER – Brett Hawkes, Crowhurst Park, East Sussex
Special Awards:
Tourism Superstar:
WINNER – Pete Chambers, Coventry Music Museum, West Midlands
Travel Content Writer:
GOLD Ben Aitken, The Guardian
‘O’er vales and hills in a wheelchair: a new accessible trail in the Lake District’
SILVER Liz Edwards, The Times
‘I went for a cross-country swim in the Thames, here’s what happened’
BRONZE Richard Franks, JRNY Travel Magazine
‘Greener Heartlands’
TXGB Trailblazer Award:
WINNER – National Lottery Days Out Campaign
Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award:
WINNER – Host of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, The City of Liverpool