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 5’s 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
• Silver – ROARR! Norfolk
• Bronze – Colchester Castle, Essex

B&B and Guest House of the Year

• Gold – The Bosham Boathouse B&B, West Sussex
• Silver – MonkBridge House, North Yorkshire
• Bronze – Bossington Hall, Somerset

 Business Events Venue of the Year:

• Gold – Telford International Centre, Shropshire
• Silver – Warwick Conferences, West Midlands
• Bronze – Winter Gardens Blackpool, Lancashire

Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year:

• Gold – The Secret Garden Glamping, Lancashire
• Silver – Kits Coty Glamping, Kent
• Bronze – Darwin Forest Lodges, Derbyshire

Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award sponsored by Sykes Holiday Cottages

• Gold – Mill Farm Eco Barns, Norfolk
• Silver – Kent Wildlife Trust, Kent
• Bronze – The Yan at Broadrayne, Cumbria

Experience of the Year sponsored by the Caravan and Motorhome Club

• Gold – Grey Seal & Seabird Cruise, Serenity Farne Island Boat Tours, 
• Silver – York Ghost Walk, The Deathly Dark Tours, North Yorkshire
• Bronze– Mountain Bike Taster Day, Pure Outdoor, Derbyshire

Large Hotel of the Year

• Gold – The Grand, York, North Yorkshire
• Silver – Hope Street Hotel, Merseyside
• Bronze – Rockliffe Hall Hotel, County Durham

Small Hotel of the Year

• Gold – The Gallivant, East Sussex
• Silver – Wildhive Callow Hall, Derbyshire
• Bronze – THE PIG-at Harlyn Bay, Cornwall

New Tourism Business of the Year

• Gold – The Wizard Walk of York, North Yorkshire
• Silver – Sleepy Owl Devon, Devon
• Bronze – Boys Hall, Kent

Pub of the Year

• Gold – The Peterville Inn, Cornwall
• Silver – The Acorn Inn, Dorset
• Bronze – The Red Fox, Merseyside

Self Catering Accommodation of the Year sponsored by Sykes Holiday Cottages

• Gold – Sleepy Owl Devon, Devon
• Silver – My Cottages in St Ives, Cornwall
• Bronze – Bethnal&Bec, Hertfordshire

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year sponsored by Virgin Experience Days

• Gold – Nothe Fort, Dorset
• Silver – Cotswolds Distillery, Warwickshire
• Bronze – The Battle of Britain Memorial, Kent

Taste of England Award

• Gold – Allium at Askham Hall, Cumbria

The article VisitEngland’s Awards for Excellence 2024 event shines the spotlight on quality   first appeared in TravelDailyNews International.