Worcestershire tourism strikes gold and bronze at the Visit England Awards of Excellence!

Each Worcestershire business was awarded either bronze, silver or gold honours in their respective categories and were praised for their commitment and efforts to the tourism sector over the past 12 months at the ceremony. 

The county was one of the most well-represented areas at the awards.

Treeopia, a unique treehouse overnight experience in Tenbury Wells were awarded the top prize of gold for Self Catering Accommodation of the Year, and were commended for providing a memorable guest experience and demonstrating excellence across every aspect of the business.  

Rowley Farm Holidays, a luxury farm stay accommodation provider located near Holt Health in Worcester were awarded bronze for New Tourism Business of the Year recognising an excellent understanding of the staycation market since opening in the summer of 2020. 

Severn Valley Railway, one of the UK’s finest heritage railways located in Kidderminster, were awarded bronze for the Resilience and Innovation Award. Signifying adaptation, innovation and support to the local communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The three businesses were shortlisted for the awards hosted at Birmingham Library, after respectively winning awards at the regional Visit Worcestershire Tourism Awards earlier this year. 

Helen Smith, Managing Director of Severn Valley Railway, said, “To receive this level of national recognition is truly wonderful. It’s a vote of confidence in everything that we’ve done to get through the impacts of Covid and to rebuild our visitor offering, making sure that we’re the best heritage railway to visit and to work and volunteer at. As we celebrate a buoyant start to our 2022 season, this award is the icing on the cake and clear proof that we’re getting it right.

Councillor Marc Bayliss, Cabinet Member for Economy, Infrastructure and Skills, said, “Award results like this are an immense moment of pride and highlight what the people of Worcestershire already know, what a beautiful and thriving county we live in. Visit Worcestershire continues to grow and does a fantastic job of encouraging visitors to explore our county. I’d like to thank all of our local businesses for the part they do in highlighting what the county has to offer.”

To reach the final stages of the Visit England Awards of Excellence tourism businesses must enter and win the local regional awards hosted on behalf of Visit England. 

Visit Worcestershire have now opened up entries for next year’s awards and are seeking businesses to apply across 13 categories. 

For further details on how to enter please head to the Tourism Awards pages of the Visit Worcestershire website.