This in from Visit Isle of Wight, in their own words. Ed
The annual awards, organised by Tourism South East and sponsored by Shepherd Neame are now in their 20th year.
Held to recognise exceptional levels of customer service and dedication to raising standards in the tourism industry, the ceremony is the event of the year for the South East’s leading tourism businesses, with 60+ award-winners presented amidst a great evening of celebrations and networking for 250+ industry professionals.
Gold awards for Island businesses
It was a particularly good evening for The Isle of Wight’s Owl & Monkey Haven and Nettlecombe Farm Holiday’s Corner Cottage who scooped top Gold awards in the Small Visitor Attraction and Self-Catering Holiday Provider of the Year categories respectively.
Also celebrating their victory was Tom’s Eco Lodge awarded Silver in the Self-Catering Holiday Provider of the Year category.
Other Island winners were Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park, awarded Bronze in the Holiday Park/Holiday Village of the Year category and Osborne, who also beat off stiff competition to win Bronze in the Large Visitor Attraction of the Year category.
Showcasing very best of the South East’s regional tourism
Liz Walker, Visit Isle of Wight Destination Development Manager, who was at the awards ceremony in Brighton said,
“This was a truly glittering event that showcased the very best of the South East’s regional tourism. In particular it was so inspiring to see how many tourism businesses from the Island featured in the nominations and subsequently won prizes.
“It demonstrates the calibre of the Isle of Wight as a top-quality tourism destination and the winners should be rightly proud of the accolades that they received at this wonderful event.”
Commenting on the awards, Peter Colling, Managing Director of Tourism South East, said,
“Every year the Beautiful South Awards are a reminder of the amazing wealth of fantastic tourism businesses and experiences South East of England has to offer. And this year the overall standard of entries was higher than ever making it extremely tough for the judges.
“The winners truly are the best of the best and a match for any in the country. We are now looking forward to our winners taking the spoils at Visit England’s National Tourism Excellence Awards in 2015.”
David Thornton, CEO, Visit Isle of Wight, said:
“The nominations for the Island businesses were funded this year by Visit Isle of Wight as part of an ongoing strategy to drive up quality and shine a spotlight on the Isle of Wight.
“The Tourism Excellence Awards provide finalists with a moment of well-deserved glory which can be used to market, promote and improve their businesses still further. I offer my hearty congratulations to all the winners, who are all worthy ambassadors for the Island.”
The Visit England National Tourism Excellence Awards ceremony will take place in May.
Image: Left to right: Peter Colling, Managing Director, Tourism South East, Antony Walser, Owl & Monkey Haven, Don Walser, Owl & Monkey Haven, Mark Smith, Board Director, Tourism South East and Rich Clarke, Heart FM Presenter.
