Blackpool to host national tourist awards

Blackpool’s Winter Gardens will host the national VisitEngland tourism awards this year, it has been announced.

Tourist figures from across the country will descend on the resort for the Awards for Excellence 2016 ceremony, which will take place on Tuesday 8 March.

With sixteen categories to compete for, hundreds of nominees are set to visit the UK’s favourite seaside resort, vying to take home a variety of top tourism gongs.

Working in collaboration with destinations and businesses throughout England, the Awards pay tribute to businesses and individuals who champion best practice and exhibit excellence in customer service.

With 16 categories, ranging from Access for All to Visitor Information Provider of the Year and 2016’s debut Dog Friendly Business of the Year Award, applications were received from a variety of businesses including hotels, B&Bs, glamping operators, restaurants, food and drink producers, pubs, museums, festivals, conference centres and even motorway service areas.

And all the nominees are sure to get a friendly Blackpool welcome, according to Blackpool Council’s Deputy Leader.

Cllr Gillian Campbell, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be hosting this year’s VisitEngland awards.

“Not only does it bring more business tourists in to the resort, who will spend money in our local hotels and restaurants, but it also gives us a great platform to showcase the many things that Blackpool has to offer.

“For the last few years we’ve been banging the drum to tell people that Blackpool is back, and this is a great chance to show the huge amount of regeneration that’s taken place to some of the country’s top tourism leaders.”

Sally Balcombe, CEO of VisitBritain and VisitEngland said “We are very excited to be bringing the 2016 Awards for Excellence to Blackpool’s wonderful Winter Gardens. The Awards finalists exemplify outstanding tourism talent and distinguished businesses throughout England,” . “The Awards highlight exceptional commitment to quality care, service and English tourism as a whole. The Awards not only honour the great and the good in tourism and hospitality, but raise the profile of England and celebrate the importance of the industry’s contribution to local and national economies.”

Judged by industry leaders, all finalists will receive either a Gold, Silver, Bronze or Highly Commended Award.

The VisitEngland Awards for Excellence winners will be announced at an Awards ceremony, which is being held for the very first time this year during English Tourism Week. The Awards ceremony will also include the official presentation of the VisitEngland and Daily Mirror’s Tourism Superstar 2016 Award for the nation’s publically voted unsung tourism hero.

To find out more and book tickets visit www.visitenglandawards.org

2016 Finalists

Below are the finalists in each category for this year’s awards (listed alphabetically)

Access for All (sponsored by Barclays www.barclays.com)

Attenborough Arts Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester

Calvert Trust Exmoor, Barnstable, Devon

Hampton Court Palace, London

Hoe Grange Holidays, Matlock, Derbyshire

The Roman Baths, Bath

Bed & Breakfast/ Guest Accommodation (sponsored by Quality in Tourism www.qualityintourism.com)  

Low Mill Guesthouse, Leyburn, North Yorkshire

Molland Manor House, Sandwich, Kent

Pebble House, Mevagissey, Cornwall

St Cuthbert’s House, Seahouses, Northumberland

Trevose Harbour House, St Ives, Cornwall

Business Tourism

Crewe Hall, Crewe, Cheshire

Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon

Highbullen Hotel Golf & Country Club, Umberleigh, Devon

Seaham Hall Hotel & Spa, Nr Seaham, County Durham

Stoke by Nayland Hotel, Golf & Spa and Country Lodges, Colchester, Essex

Dog Friendly Business (sponsored by Pets Pyjamas http://www.petspyjamas.com)

Higher Wiscombe, Colyton, Devon

Old Swan & Minster Mill, Lovell, Oxfordshire

Poston Mill Park, Peterchurch, Golden Valley, Hertfordshire

Sun Inn, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria

Talbot Hotel, Malton, North Yorkshire

Holiday Park/ Holiday Village

Castlerigg Hall Caravan & Camping Park, Keswick, Cumbria

Darwin Forest Country Park, Matlock, Derbyshire

Padstow Touring Park, Padstow, Cornwall

Poston Mill Park, Peterchurch, Golden Valley, Hertfordshire

Woodovis Park, Tavistock, Devon

Large Hotel

Chewton Glen Hotel & Spa, New Forest, Hampshire

Peckforton Castle Hotel, Tarporley, Cheshire

Rockliffe Hall, Darlington, County Durham

Salcombe Harbour Hotel & Spa, Salcombe, Devon

South Lodge, Horsham, West Sussex

Large Visitor Attraction

Beamish, The Living Museum of the North, Beamish, County Durham

Brunel’s ss Great Britain, Great Western Dockyard, Bristol

Chester Zoo, Upton-by-Chester, Chester

Salisbury Cathedral, Salisbury, Wiltshire

The Whitworth, The University of Manchester, Manchester

Self Catering Holiday Provider (sponsored by Cottages.com www.cottages.com)

The Dandelion Hideaway, Nuneaton, Leicestershire

The Dovecote Barns York, Kelfield, York

Treworgey Cottages, Looe, Cornwall

Whalesborough Cottages & Spa, Bude, Cornwall

Wolds Edge Holiday Lodges, Bishop Wilton, York

Small Hotel

Cross Lane House, Minehead, Somerset

Hell Bay Hotel, Bryher, Isles of Scilly

Kentisbury Grange, Barnstable, Devon

Tudor Farmhouse, Clearwell, Gloucestershire

Yorebridge House, Bainbridge, North Yorkshire

Small Visitor Attraction

Bombay Sapphire Distillery, Whitechurch, Hampshire

Emma Bridgewater Factory and Shop, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent

The Crystal, Royal Victoria Docks, London

Wheal Martyn, St. Austell, Cornwall

Yorkshire Trike Tours, Horsforth, Leeds

Sustainable Tourism

Browsholme Hall and Tithe Barn, Clitheroe, Lancashire

Colton House, Nr Rugley, Staffordshire

Hoe Grange Holidays, Matlock, Derbyshire

Railholiday, Saltash, Cornwall

St Cuthbert’s House, Seahouses, Northumberland

Taste of England

Eckington Manor, Eckington, Worcestershire

La Locanda Ristorante Italiano, Clitheroe, Lancashire

Martineau Guest House, Tynemouth, Tyne & Wear

The Dining Room, Rock, Cornwall

The Guardhouse Café, Brixham, Devon

Tourism Event

Durham University – Magna Carta Exhibition, Durham

IWM North – From Street to Trench Exhibition, Trafford Park, Manchester

Liverpool City Council – Memories of August 1914, Liverpool

Visit Eastbourne – Airbourne, Eastbourne

York Racecourse – Juddmonte International, York

Tourism Experience

Canterbury Historic River Tours, Canterbury, Kent

King Richard III Partnership, Leicester

Livingstone Lodge Overnight Safari Experience, Ashford, Kent

Morecambe Bay Partnership – Bay Cycle Way, Morecambe, Lancashire

River Cottage HQ, Axminster, Devon

Tourism Pub (sponsored by Free to Book http://www.freetobook.com)

The Cartford Inn, Preston, Lancashire

The Fleece Inn, Bretforton, Worcestershire

The Rising Sun, Truro, Cornwall

The Shibden Mill Inn, Halifax, West Yorkshire

The Swan, Bampton, Devon

Visitor Information Provider

Chesterfield Visitor Information Centre, Chesterfield, Derbyshire

Eastbourne Tourist Information Centre, Eastbourne, East Sussex

Gloucester Tourist Information Centre, Gloucester, Gloucestershire

Thanet Visitor Information Service, Margate, Kent

The Welcome People, London