Information on category eligibility and the judging process
Categories
North East England Tourism Awards 2025 will consist of 15 categories
Our 2025 awards are open to all tourism businesses which meet the published criteria for the category or categories they are entering. Entrants from Tyne & Wear, Northumberland and County Durham are all eligible to apply.
To view the full category criteria, click here.
Judging
Judging will take place over 2 rounds
Destination North East England appoint a panel of experts to determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze local winners for each of our categories. Judging is carried out by professionals with extensive experience and knowledge of the tourism industry. No matter where you are based in the country, your local application will be judged against nationally set standards set by Visit England, with the same scoring criteria and judging guidance for all core categories. Businesses who are shortlisted to Round 2 (with the exception of Unsung Hero) will be visited by judge(s) in this part of the process. Some visits will be announced and pre-booked while others will be conducted in a 'mystery shopper' style. The table below outlines the visits for each category. |
Round 2 Judges' Visits
Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award: Pre-booked announced day visit
B&B and Guest House of the Year: A pre-booked announced day visit (including breakfast)
Business Events Venue of the Year: Pre-booked announced day visit
Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year: Pre-booked announced day visit
Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award: Pre-booked announced day visit
Experience of the Year: Unannounced day visit (with pre-booked tickets if required)
International Tourism Award: Pre-booked announced day visit
Large Hotel of the Year: An unannounced and overnight visit (including breakfast, plus lunch or evening meal, where provided)
Large Visitor Attraction of the Year: Unannounced day visit (with pre-booked tickets if required)
New Tourism Business of the Year: Pre-booked announced day visit
Pub of the Year: Unannounced day visit (with pre-booked tickets if required)
Self Catering Accommodation of the Year: Pre-booked announced day visit
Small Hotel of the Year: An unannounced and overnight visit (including breakfast, plus lunch or evening meal, where provided)
Small Visitor Attraction of the Year: Unannounced day visit (with pre-booked tickets if required)
Taste of North East England Award: Unannounced day visit (with pre-booked reservations if required)
Unsung Hero Award: No visits
