Celebrating visitor economy business across Greater Lincolnshire with 15 categories to enter – 12 of which will take the winners through to Visit England’s national Visit Britain Awards 2023.
Nominations are now open for the 2022 Destination Lincolnshire Tourism Excellence Awards – returning for the first time after the pandemic. They are an incredible opportunity for businesses working within the visitor economy to be recognised and be put forward at a national level through the Visit England Awards 2023.
For the first time since 2020, the awards are back, launching in partnership with fellow headline sponsor Lincoln College and media partner Stonebow Media. What's more, this year, twelve categories have been created specifically in partnership with Visit England, with the winners of these categories also being put forward for the national Visit England Awards 2023.
Charlotte Goy, Chief Executive at Destination Lincolnshire, said:
“Created to shine a light on businesses, the Destination Lincolnshire Tourism Excellence Awards celebrate every aspect of the visitor tourism economy, to champion all of the innovation, passion, dedication, resilience and tenacity that we know Lincolnshire businesses have.
“We’ve been working with Visit England to bring this award opportunity to Lincolnshire businesses for a long time. It’s not just about recognition locally, although that is really important – during Covid local people supported tourism more than ever before – but this is about elevating Lincolnshire nationally too.
“We’ve been in talks with Visit England for the past year so it’s great to see this out there, living and breathing, as an award opportunity for Lincolnshire businesses. I’d encourage all tourism and visitor economy businesses to enter. The application process itself is also a business development opportunity – really helpful feedback will be given by the judges to all those who enter. The businesses that are shortlisted will then be visited by a mystery shopper. An independent mystery expert who will give genuine feedback on each business, comparing Lincolnshire’s offering to our peers on a national level.
“We have this opportunity for national recognition within the grasp of our tourism and visitor economy businesses. In previous years, International Bomber Command Centre has been crowned a gold Visit England national winner which we are incredibly proud of. The Lincolnshire awards are a fantastic starting point upon which to build, so we hope our partners and people who we haven’t yet had the opportunity to work with, take full advantage of it.”
With fifteen categories to enter, covering everything from ethics and innovation to sustainability across accommodation (hotels, B&Bs, guest houses, self-catering, camping, glamping and holiday parks), food and drink, attractions (small, large and experience), new arrivals, customer service, marketing and arts and culture, there is plenty of scope for all tourism economy businesses to enter - to see all of the hard work and creativity you've embraced honoured alongside your fellow tourism businesses spanning Greater Lincolnshire.
After two years of navigating COVID restrictions, and now the continuing post-COVID recovery, this is an incredible chance to deliver some clarity around exactly how you have maintained, surpassed and succeeding expectation, not an easy feat in the wake of a global pandemic. A chance to showcase the efforts you went to, to ensure your business survived, as well as what you have in store for the future.
The fifteen categories now open for nominations, which close on July 29. Online judging will start on July 30 and mystery shopping from August 13. The awards ceremony itself will be held at the Engine Shed on October 21, and will be hosted by Lincs FM presenter, John Marshall.
Destination Lincolnshire Tourism Excellence Awards categories:
- Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award – sponsored by Visit Lincolnshire*
- Experience of the Year – sponsored by LNER*
- Hotel of the Year – sponsored by Destination Lincolnshire*
- New Tourism Business Award – sponsored by Lincoln College*
- Pub of the Year – sponsored by Heart of Lincolnshire*
- Resilience and Innovation Award – sponsored by Visit Lincolnshire*
- Self Catering Accommodation of the Year – sponsored by Stonebow Media*
- Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year – sponsored by Destination Lincolnshire*
- B&B and Guest House of the Year – sponsored by Stonebow Media*
- Taste of England (Taste Lincolnshire) – sponsored by Destination Lincolnshire*
- Small Visitor Attraction – sponsored by Lincoln College*
- Large Visitor Attraction – sponsored by Destination Lincolnshire*
- Customer Service Excellence Award – sponsored by Lincoln College
- Marketing Campaign – sponsored by LNER
- Arts, Culture and Heritage – sponsored by Duncan & Toplis
To enter and for more information visit the Destination Lincolnshire Tourism Excellence Awards website.