Excellence Awards 2009/2010 winners revealed

The winners and finalists have been revealed for the South West Tourism Excellence Awards 2009/2010, in association with E-Strategy and South West Water.

The awards celebrate the ‘best in the South West' and aim to promote and reward the leading businesses and individuals in the tourism industry.

The awards night is the highlight of the tourism calendar, however winners will have to wait until the actual awards event on the 23 November at Saunton Sands Hotel, Devon to find out whether they have won a Gold or Silver award.

Guest speaker and presenter at this year's event will be Gill Williams, Travel Editor of the Sunday Mirror, who will be adding her own anecdotes and comment on the region's winners.

These awards have proven their worth in presenting an opportunity to businesses to showcase their quality not just to the media and customers, but to build morale amongst staff and gain recognition throughout the community.  Entrants need to demonstrate outstanding levels of customer service, plus exemplary facilities, along with a commitment to sustainability, recycling and the environment and being accessible to all.

The regional GOLD winners will be put forward for VisitEngland's, National Enjoy England Awards for Excellence 2010, where a staggering seven South West businesses received nationwide recognition in April 2009, making the South West the overall winning region.

Eddie Bent, Managing Director of E-Strategy said:
"We have a great variety of winners this year and received a very high standard of entries all round which made the judging process even harder. I would like to congratulate the winners and finalists who are the exemplars in their field and deserve this regional recognition."

Chris Loughlin, Chief Executive of South West Water, said:
"Many congratulations to all this year's winners proving again why the South West is Britain's favourite holiday region. We were very impressed to see the standard of entries for the eco-tourism award in particular and businesses of all sizes demonstrating that tourism can be green, sustainable and profitable."

Alistair Handyside, Chairman of South West Tourism, said:
"Congratulations to the winners and finalists. Winning at the regional awards is a great achievement for any business especially more so in these economic times. These businesses have shown that customer care, staff training and continued investment have not faltered but have grown and they are committed to exceeding visitor expectations."

To view a list of the winners and finalist, click here.

Date added: Thursday 29th October 2009
Latest updated: Tuesday 31st January 2012