Businesses from across the region’s accommodation, arts, food & drink, visitor attraction and heritage sectors will be aiming for success and acknowledgement in categories, including Experience of the Year, New Tourism Business and Taste of the West Midlands.
The winners will be revealed at an awards ceremony held in early 2024 and will automatically be entered in the annual VisitEngland Awards for Excellence for the chance to be recognised on a national level.
The awards are delivered by the West Midlands Growth Company (WMGC) – the region’s destination marketing agency. Now in their fourth year, the awards will form part of WMGC’s overarching Global West Midlands programme, designed to strengthen the region’s visitor economy by harnessing sustainable domestic tourism, growing the demand for inbound international tourism and attracting more major business and sporting events.
Andrew Lovett, chair of the West Midlands Tourism and Hospitality Advisory Board, said:
“The West Midlands Tourism Awards return next spring to celebrate and honour the businesses and venues that make the West Midlands an inviting and exciting place to visit. All venues should be extremely proud of their nomination, which followed a detailed process of review before scoring each category’s top three.
“The awards highlight the importance of the tourism businesses across the West Midlands, whose contribution has helped make 2023 a memorable year for visitors to our great region.
“Awards are a great way of raising standards for everyone by showing just how good service, quality and customer experience can and should be. Those shortlisted are the standard-setters and I congratulate each and every one.”
Notable highlights in the West Midlands this year - which have drawn crowds to the region - have included the dramatic Men’s Ashes series first Test match at Edgbaston Stadium. The NEC became the first venue in the UK to host The FRIENDS Experience, giving fans the chance to recreate their favourite scenes from the show. This summer, the Black Country Living Museum launched its 1940s to 1960s high street, offering visitors to the Dudley attraction a new opportunity to delve into the West Midlands’ history and step into the hustle and bustle of the past.
Dippy the Dinosaur marched into Coventry this February, with the life-size replica of a Diplodocus carnegii skeleton moving from the Natural History Museum to make its home at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum until 2025.
It has been a record year for the West Midlands, with tourism contributing £14.1 billion to the region’s economy in 2022, attracting 141.2 million visitors and supporting 131,932 full-time equivalent jobs.
The 2024 West Midlands Tourism Awards will take place in the region in the new year, with sponsorship opportunities available to support the event. For more information, contact tourism@wmgrowth.com
The finalists for the 2024 West Midlands Tourism Awards are;
Accessible & Inclusive Tourism Award
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Burlton Cottages & Spa
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St Mary's Guildhall
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Midlands Art Centre
Business Events Venue of the Year
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Warwick Conferences
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Millennium Point
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Telford International Centre
Camping, Glamping, Holiday Park of the Year
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Riverside Cabins
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Love2Stay Shrewsbury
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Scout's Meadow
Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award
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Clayton Hotel
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Riverside Cabins
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Broome Park Farm B&B
Experience of the Year
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The Shropshire Distillery
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Shakespeare Distillery
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Go Ape Cannock
Large Hotel of the Year
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Coombe Abbey Hotel
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Clayton Hotel
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Edgbaston Park & Conference Centre
Large Visitor Attraction of the Year
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Warwick Castle
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Luna Springs Digbeth
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Alderford Lake
New Tourism Business Award
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Marrington Escapes
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West Midlands Police Museum
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Kin Kitchen
Pub of the Year
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The Coach House, Stratford-upon-Avon
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Dhillon's Brewery
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The Canal House Birmingham
Self-Catering Accommodation of the Year
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Burlton Cottages & Spa
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Ironbridge View Townhouse
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Puddle Duck Cottages
Small Serviced Accommodation Provider of the Year
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Fishmore Hall
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Goldstone Hall Hotel & Gardens
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Broome Park Farm B&B
Small Visitor Attraction of the Year
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Cotswolds Distillery
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Selly Manor Museum
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Shakespeare's Schoolroom & Guildhall
Taste of the West Midlands
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Chapter
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Libertine Burger
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Baxter Baristas @ 16 Hales Street