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Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
Business
Tamlyn Jones

West Midlands tourism stars crowned at annual awards

The stars of the region's tourism industry have been recognised at an annual awards ceremony and will now go on to compete against their peers from around the country.

The third West Midlands Tourism Awards took place in Wolverhampton last night and crowned winners working in a host of different sectors in places such as Birmingham, Coventry, Shrewsbury and Ironbridge.

Among those celebrated across 14 different categories at Grand Station were the team behind Coventry City of Culture, the famous Belfry hotel and golf resort and a holiday home in historic Ironbridge.

The event was hosted by Birmingham comedian and writer Shazia Mirza, with entertainment from West Midlands-based musical collective The Peaky Blinders. The awards are organised by destination promotion agency West Midlands Growth Company.

Andrew Lovett, chairman of the West Midlands Tourism and Hospitality advisory board, said: "The West Midlands Tourism Awards gave us the perfect opportunity to look back on a momentous year for our region and recognise the contribution that our fantastic sector has made in enhancing the West Midlands' global profile.

"Together, we congratulated the staff and owners at visitor attractions, accommodation and hospitality venues who have helped to highlight to a record number of people from around the world the breadth, depth and distinctiveness of our tourism offer.

"This provides an excellent platform on which to build as tourist volumes continue to recover to their pre-pandemic levels. We acknowledge there remain ongoing challenges for the sector to address but we saw at this year's awards ceremony we have the talent and ambition to overcome these and continue to make the West Midlands an exciting and popular visitor destination."

The winners and runners-up in each category automatically qualify for the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, to be held later this year, where venues will be in with a chance of being crowned national champions.

The full list of winners at the West Midlands Tourism Awards 2023 is below and click through here to see this year's shortlist:

Accessible & Inclusive Tourism Award

Gold - St Mary's Guildhall, Coventry

Silver - Burlton Cottages, Shrewsbury

Business Events Venue of the Year

Gold - The Belfry Hotel & Resort, Sutton Coldfield

Joint silver - ICC Birmingham and Coventry Building Society Arena

Camping, Glamping, Holiday Park & Small Serviced Accommodation of the Year

Gold - Achill House & Spa, Solihull

Silver - Riverside Cabins, Shrewsbury

Ethical, Responsible & Sustainable Tourism Award

Gold - Riverside Cabins, Shrewsbury

Sliver - NEC Group, Solihull

Bronze - Staying Cool at Rotunda, Birmingham

Tourism Event/Festival of the Year

Gold - Coventry City of Culture

Silver - Shrewsbury Food Festival

Bronze - Birmingham Cocktail Weekend

Experience of the Year

Gold - Go Cotswolds, Stratford-upon-Avon

Silver - The Bear Grylls Adventure, Solihull

Large Hotel of the Year

Gold - Clayton Hotel, Birmingham

Silver - The Grand Hotel, Birmingham

Bronze - Hilton Birmingham Metropole, Solihull

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year

Gold - Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham

Silver - The NEC, Solihull

Bronze - Coventry Cathedral

New Tourism Business Award

Gold - Roundhouse, Birmingham

Silver - Telegraph Hotel, Coventry

Bronze - The Reel Store, Coventry

Pub of the Year

Gold - The Howard Arms, Shipston-on-Stour

Sliver - Dhillon's Brewery, Coventry

Resilience and Innovation Award

Gold - Ironbridge View Townhouse, Shropshire

Silver - The Albany Theatre, Coventry

Bronze - Clayton Hotel, Birmingham

Self-Catering Accommodation of the Year

Gold - Eaton Manor Country Estate, Church Stretton

Silver - Burlton Cottages, Shrewsbury

Bronze - Riverside Cabins, Shrewsbury

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year

Gold - HMV Empire, Coventry

Silver - Back to Backs, Birmingham

Bronze - Escape Live, Birmingham

Taste of the West Midlands

Gold - The Barn at Berryfields, Coventry

Silver - Hooray's Gelato Kitchen, Stratford-upon-Avon

Bronze - Fazenda Rodizio Bar & Grill, Birmingham

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