Categories for the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2023/24
The following categories relate to the awards cycle culminating in the national Awards for Excellence event in June 2024. Apply now to your local competition.
All local competitions aligned with the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence must offer the following categories:
Core categories
B&B and Guest House of the Year DOCX, 49.3KB
Recognises bed & breakfast and guest house businesses that provide a fabulous service and create great memories for their guests.
Small Hotel of the Year DOCX, 50.8KB
Recognises small to medium serviced accommodation businesses that offer a fantastic welcome, memorable guest experiences and the highest standards.
Large Hotel of the Year DOCX, 49.7KB
Recognises large full-service hotels that provide exemplary service, a top-quality food offering and a stay that guests will remember for years.
Camping Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year DOCX, 45.1KB
Recognises holiday parks, sites and villages that provide exceptional guest experiences across static vans, touring pitches, shepherd's huts and more.
Self Catering Accommodation of the Year DOCX, 44.3KB
Recognises self catering accommodation businesses that provide the highest quality holidays and help to create fabulous memories for all their guests.
Small Visitor Attraction of the Year DOCX, 50.5KB
Recognises small visitor attractions that leave visitors with lasting memories and excel in customer service.
Large Visitor Attraction of the Year DOCX, 51.5KB
Recognises large visitor attractions that provide truly memorable visitor experiences and demonstrate excellence across every aspect of the business.
Pub of the Year DOCX, 47.9KB
Recognises pubs that make a significant contribution to tourism in their area, with a food and drink offering that includes locally sourced produce.
Experience of the Year DOCX, 46.2KB
Recognises providers of memorable and immersive activities for visitors to participate in, from cooking masterclasses to woodland nature tours.
New Tourism Business of the Year DOCX, 50.0KB
Recognises new tourism businesses who understand their market, exceed the expectations of their customers and have clear plans for future development.
Taste of England Award DOCX, 48.9KB
Recognises businesses within the tourism industry that offer outstanding cuisine, innovative service and excellence throughout their entire operation.
Local competitions are required to offer at least two of these four categories:
Accessible & Inclusive Tourism Award DOCX, 49.2KB
Recognises tourism businesses that excel in providing an inclusive customer experience, particularly for those with accessibility requirements.
Ethical, Responsible & Sustainable Tourism Award DOCX, 50.4KB
Recognises tourism businesses committed to being sustainable in how they operate and interact with customers, the wider community and the environment.
Unsung Hero Award DOCX, 38.7KB
Recognises an individual who excels in their role and deserves to be applauded for their work and commitment to the industry.
Business Events Venue of the Year DOCX, 47.8KB
Recognises business events venues that demonstrate an excellent understanding of the market, exceeding the expectations of their clients.
In addition, local awards competitions may choose to offer additional categories at a local level that do not feed up to the national Awards, such as ‘Event of the Year’, which are specific to the destination.
Please note:
Local competitions may choose to combine certain core categories e.g. instead of running ‘Small Visitor Attraction of the Year’ and ‘Large Visitor Attraction of the Year’, a single ‘Visitor Attraction of the Year’ category may be offered. The winner would be put forward to the most relevant category at national level. The combined categories are:
Hotel of the Year (Word Doc, 46kb)
Small Serviced Accommodation Provider of the Year (Word Doc, 50kb)
Visitor Attraction of the Year (Word Doc, 50kb)
Camping, Glamping, Holiday Park and Self Catering Accommodation of the Year (Word Doc, 46kb)
Local competitions may choose to split certain categories e.g. the ‘Taste of England Award’ category could be split into ‘Restaurant of the Year’ and ‘Tearoom of the Year’ at local level, with an overall winner selected and put forward for the national ‘Taste of England Award’.
The ‘Taste of England Award’ name may be changed to reflect the local destination e.g. ‘Taste of Cumbria Award’.
Local competition organisers and VisitEngland reserve the right to refuse an application if the business does not meet the eligibility criteria or move an application to another category if deemed more appropriate.
In certain circumstances a local competition may not carry a mandatory core category if there is deemed to be insufficient stock in the area e.g. an urban awards competition may not carry the Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year category.
Terms and conditions vary by local competition.
