Finalists for the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2015 have been revealed in readiness for the awards ceremony, taking place on 11th May at the Sage Gateshead conference centre.
Among the venues shortlisted for the Business Tourism Award is The University of Manchester Conference and Venues. The academic venue, which stretches across 4 campuses and caters for events from 4 to 1000 attendees, will fight it out against Barnett Hill in Surrey, Event Durham at Durham University, the National Space Centre in Leicester and Woodland Grange Conference Centre in Warwickshire.
Also in the running for an award, Cheshire venue Peckforton Castle has been shortlisted for Large Hotel of the Year. The Grade I listed building, built in the 19th Century, is the only intact medieval style Castle in the country. This magnificent hotel and event venue is going up against Chewton Glen Hotel & Spa in Hampshire, Matfen Hall Hotel in Northumberland and Ellenborough Park and The Manor House Hotel, both in Gloucestershire.
Entrant’s for the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence were judged by a board of tourism industry experts. Each finalist is guaranteed a Gold, Silver, Bronze or Highly Commended in the category.
The Awards are firmly established as representing the highest accolade in English tourism. The Awards recognise businesses that incorporate best practice and demonstrate excellence in customer service throughout their operation and celebrate the very best in quality and innovation.
VisitEngland’s chief executive, James Berresford, commented on the succesful finalists: “I would like to congratulate all those nominated as VisitEngland Awards for Excellence finalists this year. We receive hundreds of applications each year of an extremely high standard, so it is a fantastic achievement for any tourism business to become a finalist. Each finalist is already a winner and can take justifiable pride and credit in earning a coveted place in the top five in their category in England, and in the contribution they make to an industry worth £106bn to the economy, supporting 2.6m jobs. I wish all our finalists the very best of luck for the awards ceremony in May in Gateshead.”
Click here for the full list of finalists.
