South West Tops England for 8th Year in National Tourism Awards
The finalists for the national VisitEngland awards have been announced and the South West’s position as England’s top region for quality have been further reinforced with 13 of the 53 finalists.
Nominations for the national awards were put forward following the South West Tourism Excellence awards in Exeter Cathedral in February, following a record year for the awards with 773 entries into the Dorset, Cornwall, Bristol, Bath and Somerset, Devon and South West awards. Since then the nominees have been through a further round of national judging leading to the finalists announcement.
Robin Barker from South West awards organisers Services for Tourism, commented: “In what is an extraordinarily difficult year for tourism and South West England it’s great to have this great news to share. The success of these businesses – and the region as a whole – pays real testament to the innovation, passion and commitment of tourism across the South West and I pay tribute to every one of them. This year’s regional awards are also currently open for entry and I hope this news will encourage many more businesses to get involved.”
The finalists are all invited to attend an online virtual event on Monday 17 August when they will be awarded a Bronze, Silver or Gold award.
The South West finalists are:
ACCESSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE TOURISM AWARD
Durlston Country Park National Nature Reserve, Dorset, durlston.co.uk @DurlstonCP
Mylor Sailing and Powerboat School, Cornwall, mylorsailingschool.co.uk, @mylorsailing
B&B AND GUESTHOUSE OF THE YEAR
The 25 Boutique B&B, Devon the25.uk @The25Torquay
EXPERIENCE OF THE YEAR
Wild Wookey, Somerset wildwookey.co.uk, @wildwookey
INTERNATIONAL TOURISM AWARD
The Roman Baths & Pump Room, Bath romanbaths.co.uk @RomanBathsBath
LARGE HOTEL OF THE YEAR
Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, Wiltshire lucknampark.co.uk @LucknamPark
LARGE VISITOR ATTRACTION OF THE YEAR
The Roman Baths & Pump Room, Bath romanbaths.co.uk @RomanBathsBath
PUB OF THE YEAR
Three Horseshoes Pub & Kitchen, Dorset threehorseshoesburtonbradstock.co.uk @the_horseshoes
SELF CATERING ACCOMMODATION OF THE YEAR
North Hayne Farm Cottages, Devon northhaynefarmcottages.co.uk @NorthHayne
SMALL HOTEL OF THE YEAR
Cary Arms & Spa, Devon caryarms.co.uk, @caryarms
SMALL VISITOR ATTRACTION OF THE YEAR
Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum, Dorset shirehalldorset.org @ShireHallDorset
The Herschel Museum of Astronomy, Bath herschelmuseum.org.uk @HerschelMuseum
TASTE OF ENGLAND AWARD
The Dining Room – Whatley Manor Hotel & Spa, Wiltshire whatleymanor.com/eat-drink @Whatley_Manor
In addition to the above finalists four special awards will be presented on the night, with further South West interest from the following:
TRAVEL CONTENT AWARD
Helen Coffey, Independent.co.uk: Don’t let the Russian Poisonings put you off visiting Salisbury, the UK’s loveliest medieval city
Rachel Dixon, The Guardian: Uncrowded Cornwall: fine food and walking on the Lizard
INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION AWARD
Destination Bristol
