Visit West members strike gold at Tourism Awards

Several Visit West members were among the winners last night at the South West Tourism Awards.

Taking place at the University of Exeter, more than 400 representatives of some of the best businesses in the industry from the wider region, came together to celebrate. The annual event was the grand finale of 12 months of entry, judging and feedback as over 300 winners, supporters and tourism leaders celebrated in the Great Hall of the University of Exeter. Many have also been nominated to represent the region in the national VisitEngland awards, which concludes in Liverpool in June.

WWT Slimbridge were double gold winners with the top prize in both the Large Attraction and Accessible and Inclusive award.

In the Spa & Wellbeing category, it was gold to Bowood Hotel & Spa with the Aztec Hotel & Spa collecting silver.

The Olive Tree in Bath picked up gold for the best restaurant in the South West, with Gambas in Bristol receiving bronze.

Bronze also went to DeVere Tortworth Court Hotel & Spa in Large Hotel of the Year, and Aldwick Estate achieved bronze for Wedding Venue of the Year.

Westonbirt Arboretum picked up two bronze awards during the evening for Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism and in the Tourism Festival / Event category for their Enchanted Christmas.

There were also two awards for Mendip Activity Centre, with a silver for ‘Learn to Ski’ in the Tourism Experience category and bronze for Mendip Base Camp in the camping and caravanning category.

Visit West's Managing Director Kathryn Davis, who attended the event, commented: "We now wait to see who has progressed through to the Visit England national finals taking place in Liverpool in June, and to see if we can repeat the previous successes of Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm and Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa in bringing back national Gold awards to the region. Congratulations to all the winners from a fantastic event."

For a full list of winners, visit the South West Tourism Awards website.

The 2024-25 Tourism Awards, including the Bristol, Bath and Somerset Awards, will launch in April with a programme of events throughout the autumn and winter.