With the nomination deadline fast approaching, the Geopark is encouraging organisations from across Charnwood Forest to nominate for this year’s Leicestershire Tourism and Hospitality Awards.
Categories this year are:
B&B and Guest House
Small Hotel
Large Hotel
Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park
Self Catering Accommodation
Small Visitor Attraction
Large Visitor Attraction
Pub
Experience
New Tourism Business
Taste of England – Special Occasion Dining
Accessible and Inclusive Tourism
Business Events Venue
Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism
Free Event
Event / Festival – Paid Entry
Live Music Venue
Team
Rising Star
Best Employer for Career Starters
Breakfast
Sunday Lunch
Tearoom/Coffee Shop
Casual Dining Experience
Beer Garden
Dog Friendly Venue
Our region has traditionally done very well in the awards, with a number of Charnwood Forest nominees even going on to the national finals. In 2022, National Forest EBike Holidays won the Ethical, Responsible, Sustainable Tourism category. Sue Jerham, Director, told us “It’s a fabulous feeling knowing that your hard work and business model is recognised by industry experts. We were lucky enough to be shortlisted for the National finals, where we won the Silver award in the Ethical, Responsible, Sustainable tourism category. As a result, we had some national and local coverage and were also asked to contribute to a Visit England project. We’re also able to display the Visit England Awards for Excellence logo on our website, which helps reassure potential guests that we are a credible business.
I found the entry process a great opportunity to evaluate our business, draw together business data about our achievements, think about what we do well and consider what we could develop in the future. The judges feedback is also valuable, as it can help highlight potential areas for improvement. Being shortlisted as a finalist is a great boost for you and your staff and also helps fly the flag for our local tourism industry.”
Rothley Wine Estate won the same award in 2023. Liz Robson said it was “One of the proudest moments in my life. To feel that all my hard work, and the philosophy behind my sustainable approach, had been recognised at such a high level was awesome. My volunteer team had beaten some serious opposition with many employees and a marketing team.” She added “If you don’t enter you cant win. So….go on…..have a go! I did!”
Another previous Charnwood Forest winner is Horseshoe Cottage Farm, who went all the way to silver in the national awards in the B&B and Guest House Category. Owner Linda Jee said “We felt so proud to have all our hard work formally recognised. We always felt that we were doing the right thing in the right way but, being a winner was proof. This also had a knock on to our staff who worked equally hard to help get us to the podium. The last time we entered we were shortlisted for the Visit England, National Finals for Best B&B and won Silver……we were chosen from hundreds of entrants all over England. The pride we felt that our small business in Leicestershire was one of the best was immense. All that hard work, attention to detail, dedication etc was worth so much.” To anyone thinking of applying, Linda says “Do it……one of the key things I found was I needed to really look deep into what we were doing and what we could do to improve our offering to our guests. This is a great way to review the business regardless of a prize at the end. The industry is always evolving and by entering I was honing our offer to suit guests needs.“
To find out more, and to nomination your organisation, see the Award’s website: https://www.goleicestershire.com/trade/tourismawards