The deadline is approaching for businesses to get their entries in for the 2023-24 Enjoy Staffordshire Tourism & Good Food Awards.
Any attraction, venue, accommodation business, restaurant, pub, café or farm shop can apply for the competition – as long as they are based in Staffordshire or Stoke-on-Trent.
This year’s competition organised by Enjoy Staffordshire in partnership with Staffordshire University and VisitEngland, has 20 categories including the new Rising Star and Team of the Year awards.
Applications close at midnight on Monday 31 July.
The awards offer businesses the chance to get recognition for their commitment and dedication to providing visitors with a great experience – as well as the chance to progress to the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.
This year’s awards received over 95 entries from across the county, with the winners reported in Daily Focus.
Three businesses went on to receive further recognition at the national awards, as reported here.
The National Memorial Arboretum, in Alrewas, won the Business Events Venue of the Year, while The Duncombe Arms, in Ellastone, won Bronze in the Pub of the Year category, and The Trentham Estate’s Carol Adams won Bronze for Unsung Hero.
Mark Ellis, National Memorial Arboretum Lead, said: “The Enjoy Staffordshire Tourism & Good Food Awards provide us with a platform to highlight the incredible work of our team and demonstrate how their efforts allow us to deliver a world-class visitor experience.
“In addition to collecting several Enjoy Staffordshire awards, we’ve also been recognised at successive VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, most recently winning Business Events Venue of the Year 2023 for Aspects, our state-of-the-art events building.
“We hosted a special event in Aspects on the night of the awards, giving team members the opportunity to gather and celebrate being shortlisted – it was tremendous that so many colleagues were together to share in the delight at the precise moment when we discovered that we had won!
“While winning is obviously a tremendous boost to the whole team and raises our profile with industry peers, just entering the awards is a rewarding experience, encouraging us to reflect on our work and helping us to identify areas where we can further enhance our visitor offer.”
For more information about the awards, including how to apply, click here.
