Categories for the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2022/23
The following categories relate to the awards cycle culminating in the national Awards for Excellence event in June 2023. All local competitions have now closed for entries.
All local competitions aligned with the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence must offer the following categories:
Core categories
The 25 Boutique B&B, Devon
B&B and Guest House of the Year DOCX, 48.9KB
Recognises B&Bs and guest houses providing truly memorable guest experiences.
Seaham Hall, Northumberland
Small Hotel of the Year DOCX, 48.7KB
Recognises small serviced accommodation businesses providing truly memorable guest experiences.
The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa, Bath
Large Hotel of the Year DOCX, 48.7KB
Recognises full service hotels providing truly memorable guest experiences.
Secret Meadows, Suffolk (c) Craig Girling
Camping Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year DOCX, 48.1KB
Recognises holiday parks, sites and villages providing truly memorable guest experiences.
Treeopia, Worcestershire (c) Nicki Beavan
Self Catering Accommodation of the Year DOCX, 48.1KB
Recognises self catering accommodation businesses providing truly memorable guest experiences.
Nothe Fort, Dorset
Small Visitor Attraction of the Year DOCX, 49.6KB
Recognises small visitor attraction businesses providing truly memorable visitor experiences.
Chester Zoo, Cheshire
Large Visitor Attraction of the Year DOCX, 49.8KB
Recognises large visitor attraction businesses providing truly memorable visitor experiences.
The Cotley Inn, Somerset
Pub of the Year DOCX, 47.8KB
Recognises pubs that make a significant contribution to tourism, with a food and drink offering that includes quality locally sourced produce.
Mylor Sailing & Powerboat School, Cornwall (c) Tracey Boyne
Experience of the Year DOCX, 49.7KB
Recognises providers of truly memorable and immersive activities for visitors to participate in.
Three Mile Beach, Cornwall
New Tourism Business of the Year DOCX, 50.1KB
Recognises new tourism businesses who understand their market, exceed the expectations of their customers and have clear plans for future development.
Lu Ban Restaurant, Merseyside
Taste of England Award DOCX, 48.3KB
Recognises businesses within the tourism industry that offer food, beverage and service innovation and excellence.
Local competitions are required to offer at least two of these five categories:
Mylor Sailing & Powerboat School, Cornwall (c) Tracey Boyne
Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award DOCX, 48.3KB
Recognises tourism businesses providing truly memorable visitor experiences for everyone, particularly those with accessibility requirements.
Chichester Festival Theatre, West Sussex (c) Philip Vile
Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism DOCX, 48.3KB
Recognises tourism businesses committed to being sustainable in how they operate and interact with customers, the wider community and the environment.
Black Country Living Museum, West Midlands (c) Black Country Living Museum
Resilience and Innovation Award DOCX, 41.6KB
Recognises businesses within the tourism industry that have demonstrated great innovation, resilience and adaptation.
Unsung Hero Award DOCX, 31.7KB
Recognises an individual who excels in their role and deserves to be applauded for their work and commitment to the industry.
The Brewery, London
Business Events Venue of the Year DOCX, 48.5KB
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, 49kb)
- Small Serviced Accommodation Provider of the Year (Word Doc, 50kb)
- Visitor Attraction of the Year (Word Doc, 51kb)
- Camping, Glamping, Holiday Park and Self Catering Accommodation of the Year (Word Doc, 49kb)
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.
