East of England Tourism Awards honour exciting guest experiences

These awards aim to celebrate what makes East Anglia’s tourism sector so special and nominations are welcomed from businesses themselves or members of the public.

If you have had a fantastic experience at a local tourism destination and want to shout about it, or you are eager to share your business’ recent successes, be sure to submit a nomination or entry to ensure the best of the best are recognised at the annual awards ceremony in February 2024.

Here, we find out what the judges will be looking for in three of this year’s categories.

From left: Mike Harper, managing director of Newsquest South East, with Bryony Tuijl and Nick Forster of RSPB Minsmere (Image: Matt Potter Photography and Videography)

Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award

The Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award recognises businesses that excel in providing an inclusive customer experience, particularly for those with accessibility requirements.

Tourism businesses that are directly serving customers and those who control the visitor experience are eligible. This could include accommodation, hospitality and transport providers, cultural or sporting venues, retailers, events or food and drinks providers.

Judges will be looking for evidence of entrants’ commitment to accessible and inclusive tourism. Key to this is a demonstration of how the business has improved its accessibility for customers through development of facilities or staff training, for example, and its plans to further improve this moving forward.

Last year’s winner was RSPB Minsmere nature reserve on the Suffolk coast. Bryonny Tuijl, visitor operations manager at RSPB Minsmere, had this to say at the 2022-2023 awards ceremony: “We are immensely proud of this award, which recognises the completion of the major Access for All path project to improve accessibility on the reserve.

“We are committed to improving access and inclusivity on the reserve further.”

Richard Turvill from last year’s New Tourism Business of the Year sponsor Swiss Camplings and Lindy O’Hare of Thorington Theatre (Image: Matt Potter Photography and Videography)

New Tourism Business of the Year

The title of New Tourism Business of the Year will go to a high-performing business that has been trading for up to two years and demonstrates an excellent understanding of its market, while exceeding the expectations of its customers and developing clear plans for future development.

Again, a wide range of tourism businesses are eligible for entry and the judges will be looking for a quality product or offering, as well as innovation in marketing and developing the product and excellent customer service.

Last year’s New Tourism Business of the Year was Thorington Theatre near Saxmundham, Suffolk, an open-air amphitheatre opened in 2021.

Owner Lindy O’Hare said she felt “overwhelmed and deeply grateful” to have won the award at last year’s ceremony.

“We also feel very excited for what this means for the future. This award will expand our reputation and introduce more people to the theatre,” she said.

Experience of the Year

The Experience of the Year award will celebrate providers of memorable and immersive activities that visitors can participate in – from cooking masterclasses to woodland nature tours.

Any visitor experience that requires participation in an activity is eligible for entry, whether hosted by an instructor or guide or self-led.

Entrants should give evidence of how they have developed an exciting, educational and/or unique experience for guests. They should also include details of recent improvements and a clear strategy for future growth, with evidence of plans to enhance the experience through staff training and development of facilities.

PrimEVIL, a scare experience based in Lenwade, Norfolk, won last year’s Experience of the Year award. Commenting on the night, Ben Francis, production director at PrimEVIL, said: “It is a real honour to win the award for Experience of the Year.

“There is always room for growth,” he added, “to take what we have learned and the feedback from our guests to make PrimEVIL 2023 bigger and better.”

The deadline for entries and nominations is Sunday, September 17, 2023. To find out more about all of the categories and submit an entry or nomination, visit tourismawards.co.uk

To find out more about the categories, please click here.