An Escape Room employee, an Anglo-Saxon museum and distillery and a luxury spa hotel are amongst the five North East England tourism stars to be recognised nationally as part of the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence shortlist.
Seaham Hall, the popular spa retreat on the Durham coast is vying once again to take home the Small Hotel of the Year award, having enjoyed record-breaking success at the region’s Destination North East England Tourism Awards in recent years.
They’re joined by fellow finalists from the regional heats - which took place during English Tourism Week – Gateshead’s Glasshouse International Centre for Music, which is up for Business Events Venue of the Year and Caitlin Brown of Newcastle based The Escape Key, who is hoping to bring home the Unsung Hero Award after Northumberland National Park’s Duncan Wise clinched the victory at last’s year’s national ceremony.
Staying in Northumberland, Ad Gefrin, the Anglo-Saxon museum and whisky distillery is hoping to bag New Tourism Business of the Year and Battlesteads near Hexham is aiming to prove its green credentials with a win in the Ethical, Sustainable and Responsible category.
The shortlist of 52 is drawn from hundreds of finalists in several regional competitions – the North East heat having awarded its winners on 20th March. Winners will be announced at a glitzy award ceremony in June, held at the iconic Brighton Dome.
The national awards will hand out gongs across 16 core categories, with a special Tourism Superstar also awarded on the night. Wendy Wilshere of Bishop Auckland’s Kynren came second in the publicly voted Tourism Superstar competition with thousands of votes recognising her tireless work coordinating the countless volunteers Kynren, the epic outdoor spectacular, works with.
With five finalists battling it out on the national stage, the spotlight has been firmly placed on North East England’s thriving visitor economy and its visitor offer which continues to go from strength to strength.
As the region’s winning streak continues, I am delighted that five of our incredible visitor economy superstars have made the national shortlist, an amazing achievement and a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate the breadth and the diversity of our tourism landscape on the national stage.” “From an iconic place to host business events, to another unsung hero working tirelessly to create unforgettable memories for visitors to our part of the world, I couldn't be prouder of our visitor economy businesses and the people that make them tick.
England’s tourism industry has good reason to celebrate. As the finalists demonstrate, businesses across every region provide outstanding customer service along with high quality experiences while constantly innovating to find new ways to give more to visitors and the communities they serve. “The applications to this year’s awards and the list of finalists are a testament to the range of first-class products on offer to both domestic and international visitors. I congratulate all the finalists who are already winners, and I wish them the very best of luck.
Championing excellence and quality is a key part of England’s first Destination Development Partnership Pilot – which has recently announced further funding from Government to continue its work. Destination North East England is led by NewcastleGateshead Initiative on behalf of the region, working with delivery partners Visit Northumberland and Visit County Durham and in in partnership with all seven local authorities to unlock the growth potential of the visitor economy.
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