VisitEngland

VisitEngland Awards for Excellence: the judging process

Meet the expert judges behind each national award, and learn more about the decision-making process.

Photo by: VisitBritain/Michael Cummins

A classic car drives past a pub covered with ivy leaves

VisitEngland Awards for Excellence: the judging process

Winners of core categories at local awards officially aligned with the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence are automatically put forward to the national competition. The national shortlist is then evaluated by the national judging panels, made up of experts in the tourism industry.

Meet the judges for 2024/25 below.

How your entry will be judged

No matter where you are based in the country, your local and national application will be judged against nationally-set standards, with the same scoring criteria and judging guidance for all core categories.

For the local awards, your application will be scored and ranked against other applicants in your category to determine a shortlist. All applicants will receive feedback on how to improve their application, even if they are not shortlisted.

Further rounds of judging, including site visits with further feedback, also form part of the decision process at local competition level. The overall winners of local core categories are then put forward for national judging. For local competitions covering larger areas, additional winners may also be eligible to progress.

National judging panels

VisitEngland appoints industry experts across several judging panels to determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze national winners for each category.

The national judging panelists are selected each year and usually include journalists/ media experts, senior trade/ industry body representatives, sponsors, specialist consultants, VisitEngland Advisory Board Members and VisitEngland/VisitBritain Directors/ subject experts.

If you are interested in being considered as a national judge, please contact the Awards Team before the end of October. The panel meetings are usually held in March.

Please note that panel members are subject to change prior to panel meetings.

The following experts were on the national judging panels for the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2024/25.

Serviced accommodation

The serviced accommodation panel judges the following categories: Bed and Breakfast and Guest House of the Year, Small Hotel of the Year and Large Hotel of the Year.

Sophie Braybrooke

Chief Executive, Stay in a Pub

Simon Mahon

Chief Operations Officer, Watergate Bay Hotel

Lyndsey Turner-Swift 

Deputy Director, VisitEngland
 

David Weston

Chairman, Bed and Breakfast Association

Laura Carter

Customer Segment Director, Ecclesiastical Insurance UK

Non-serviced accommodation

The non-serviced accommodation panel judges the following categories: Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year, Self-Catering Accommodation of the Year and Unsung Hero.

Jane Anderson    

Travel Editor, Prima Magazine

Alistair Handyside

Executive Chair Professional Association of Self-Caterers UK Ltd (PASC UK Ltd)

Liz Herridge

Transformation Director, VisitBritain
 

Allan Lambert

Advisory Board Member, VisitEngland

Simon McGrath    

Director of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement, National Caravan Council (NCC) 

Sadie Rowell

Head of Sales, VisitEngland Assessment Services

Oliver McRae

Property Onboarding Manager, Sykes Holiday Cottages

Attractions and experiences

The attractions and experiences panel judges the following categories: Large Visitor Attraction of the Year, Small Visitor Attraction of the Year and Experience of the Year.

Kelly Ballard

Marketing Consultant, Visitor Elves

Paul Kelly

Chief Executive, British Association of Leisure Parks Piers and Attractions (BALPPA)

Gordon Morrison

Chief Executive,The Association for Cultural Enterprises

Nick De Mestre

Chief Financial Officer, RAW Charging Network Ltd

Fiona Pollard

Advisory Board Member, VisitEngland

Rachel Read

Co-Founder and Director, Blooloop

Janet Uttley

Head of Industry Development, VisitEngland

Food and drink

The food and drink panel judges the following categories: Pub of the Year, Taste of England Award and New Tourism Business of the Year.

Robin Johnson

Global Marketing Director, VisitBritain

Mardi Roberts

Director of Communications, Ridgeview Wine Estate

Tortie Farrand

Partner Relations Director, Guild of Fine Food

Jenny O’Neill

Head of Awards & Events, Artichoke Media

Janet Uttley

Head of Industry Development, VisitEngland

Accessibility

The accessibility panel judges the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award category.

Ross Calladine

Accessibility and Inclusion Lead, VisitEngland; Disability and Access Ambassador for Tourism, UK Government

Emily Yates

Head of Accessibility and Inclusive Design, Mima

Anna Nelson

Chief Executive, AccessAble

Sustainability

The sustainability panel judges the Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award category.

Sarah Duncan

Co-Founder and Director, Sleeping Lion

Kat Emmett

Head of Carbon Reduction, Zero Carbon Company

Sarah Fowler

Advisory Board Member, VisitEngland

Richard Hammond

Videographer & Publishing Director, Green Traveller Media

Claire Binns

Senior Impact Manager, Sykes Holidays Cottages

Business events

The business events panel judges the Business Events Venue of the Year category.

Martin Fullard

Director, Identity

Serena Jacobs

Director of Finance, VisitBritain

Jenny Jensen

Owner, Jenny Jensen Ltd

Holly Patrick

Social Editor & Senior Journalist at NorthStar Media

Molly Low

Business Events, VisitBritain

International Tourism

The international tourism panel judges the International Tourism Award category.

Osnat Borreda

Senior Training & Education Manager, VisitEngland

Joss Croft

Chief Executive, UKinbound

Gavin Landry

International Director, VisitBritain

Peter Muttitt

Managing Director, PM Consulting

Nadine Thomson

Advisory Board Member, VisitEngland

Kerry Parnell

Editor and journalist

Apply now

Your journey to the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence starts by entering your local competition. Simply complete one application for your regional awards, and if you win you will automatically be submitted to the national awards. Entry dates vary, so sign up to your local awards communication channels to stay updated.

Find your local tourism awards

Tourism Awards Steering Group

The Tourism Awards Steering Group advises VisitEngland on the national categories, eligibility criteria, application forms, scoring matrices and judging guidance for each awards cycle. It currently comprises eight members, in addition to VisitEngland:

Robin Barker

South West Tourism Awards

Dominique Bray

Visit Worcestershire Tourism Awards

Maria Moriarty Eames

Lancashire Tourism Awards

Carolyn Knott

Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards

Lindsay Rae

Peak District, Derbyshire & Derby Tourism Awards

Sarah Davidson

North East England Tourism Awards

Janine Williams

Leicestershire Promotions Tourism and Hospitality Awards

Andrea Sammons

Enjoy Staffordshire Tourism and Good Food Awards