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 2022. All local competitions have now closed for entries for the 2021/22 cycle.
Core categories
- B&B and Guest House of the Year
- Small Hotel of the Year
- Large Hotel of the Year
- Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year
- Self Catering Accommodation of the Year
- Small Visitor Attraction of the Year
- Large Visitor Attraction of the Year
- Pub of the Year
- Experience of the Year
- New Tourism Business Award
- Taste of England Award
Local competitions were required to carry at least two of four of the following categories:
- Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award
- Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award
- Resilience and Innovation Award
- Unsung Hero Award
The following categories relate to the awards cycle culminating in the national Awards for Excellence event in June 2023. Apply now via your local competition.
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.
Grays Court, Yorkshire (c) Grahame Mellanby FRSA
Small Hotel of the Year DOCX, 48.7KB
Recognises small serviced accommodation businesses providing truly memorable guest experiences.
The Ned, London
Large Hotel of the Year DOCX, 48.7KB
Recognises full service hotels providing truly memorable guest experiences.
Landal Darwin Forest, Derbyshire
Camping Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year DOCX, 48.1KB
Recognises holiday parks, sites and villages providing truly memorable guest experiences.
North Hayne Farm Cottages, Devon
Self Catering Accommodation of the Year DOCX, 48.1KB
Recognises self catering accommodation businesses providing truly memorable guest experiences.
Gladstone Pottery Museum, Staffordshire
Small Visitor Attraction of the Year DOCX, 49.6KB
Recognises small visitor attraction businesses providing truly memorable visitor experiences.
Old Royal Naval College, London
Large Visitor Attraction of the Year DOCX, 49.8KB
Recognises large visitor attraction businesses providing truly memorable visitor experiences.
The Baskerville, Oxfordshire
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.
Wild Wookey, Somerset (c) Andrew Horeckyj/Wookey Hole Ltd
Experience of the Year DOCX, 49.7KB
Recognises providers of truly memorable and immersive activities for visitors to participate in.
Vine + Country Tours, Kent & Sussex
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.
Whatley Manor, Wiltshire
Taste of England Award DOCX, 48.3KB
Recognises businesses within the tourism industry that offer food, beverage and service innovation and excellence.
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.
Local competitions are required to offer at least two of these four categories:
Durlston Country Park, Dorset
Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award DOCX, 48.3KB
Recognises tourism businesses providing truly memorable visitor experiences for everyone, particularly those with accessibility requirements.
The Hive Cafe and Bakery, Birmingham (c) Ruskin Mill Trust
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.
(c) VisitBritain/Andrew Welsher
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.
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.
