Tourism and hospitality businesses are being encouraged to enter the 2023-24 Enjoy Staffordshire Tourism and Good Food Awards.
Entries have now opened for the awards with two new categories created for the 10th anniversary of the scheme.
Organised by Enjoy Staffordshire, the county’s official tourist board, the awards are open to attractions, venues, experiences, accommodation businesses, restaurants, pubs and cafes.
Winners will progress to the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2024 giving them the chance to emulate the success of previous national competition finalists Gladstone Pottery Museum, the National Memorial Arboretum, Duncombe Arms and Alton Towers Resort.
The latest competition has been launched as three of Staffordshire’s top destinations National Memorial Arboretum, The Trentham Estate, and The Duncombe Arms – prepare to represent the county at the 2023 national awards final tomorrow, 7 June, following success in the regional competition as reported by Daily Focus.
Councillor Philip White, Deputy Leader of Staffordshire County Council and Chair of Enjoy Staffordshire said: “We’re excited to be celebrating 10 years of Staffordshire excellence as our awards competition marks its 10th anniversary in 2024, getting bigger and better every year!
“Although we already attract more entries than any other tourism awards in the West Midlands, we’d encourage any business that thinks they’ve got what it takes to win to enter.”
One of the new categories is a Rising Star Award which recognises an individual, aged 25 and under, who excels in their role / training and deserves to be recognised for their skills development, progression and commitment to the industry.
There is also the new Team of the Year award which will applaud a group of people working together to provide outstanding customer experiences and deliver excellence across their business.
Free webinars/workshops will take place on 15 June and 5 July to help applicants write their application.
The awards, ran in partnership with VisitEngland and supported by headline sponsor Staffordshire University, are free to enter and any tourism or hospitality business located in Staffordshire, including Stoke-on-Trent, can apply.
All applications must be submitted online before 11.59pm on Monday 31 July 2023.
Winners will be announced at a black-tie celebration dinner and awards ceremony in March next year.
Details of all the categories, registration for the webinars / workshops and how to apply are available here.
