VisitEngland announces Awards for Excellence winners

VisitEngland has celebrated the best of English tourism, announcing the winners of its Awards for Excellence for 2017. 

The awards, now in their 28th year, celebrate those businesses and individuals who continuously raise the bar of England’s tourism offer.

The 25 award winners, from Afternoon Tea of the Year to Sustainable Tourism Award, Tourism Pub of the Year to Business Tourism Award, span the length and breadth of the country from Yorkshire to Devon, Warwickshire to Northumberland.

The awards ceremony, hosted by Sue Perkins, took place at the Hilton Waldorf in London and welcomed 67 finalists selected from almost 600 applications, the highest number ever received.

In addition to the winners in each of the 22 categories there were special awards: Outstanding Contribution to Tourism awarded to the Premier League and Tourism Superstar awarded to Duane Dibartolomeo, after a public vote.

The Premier League was singled out for the Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award due to English football’s draw for domestic and international visitors. More than 800,000 overseas visitors attended a football match during their trip to Britain in 2014, spending £684 million.

The Tourism Superstar 2017 competition, run jointly with the Daily Mirror, was won by Duane, owner of the Grosvenor Fish Bar in Norwich. Nigel Thompson, the Daily Mirror’s Travel Editor presented the accolade.

VisitEngland Chief Executive Sally Balcombe said: “This year’s awards were fiercely contested and we had some terrific applications, showcasing not only the excellence on offer within English tourism but also the outstanding innovation and the sheer diversity of experiences throughout the country.

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