Shropshire's tourism industry stars dominate prestigious awards

The 2024 West Midlands Tourism Awards has celebrated 14 winners from the region’s visitor attractions and venues.

Businesses across accommodation, arts, food and drink, visitor attraction and heritage sectors were honoured in categories including New Tourism Business and Taste of the West Midlands.

Love2Stay Shrewsbury was crowned gold medallist in the Camping, Glamping, Holiday Park and Small Serviced Accommodation of the Year category.

Scout’s Meadow took silver and Riverside Cabins took bronze it that category.

Riverside Cabins scooped the Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award. Broome Park Farm B&B, Cleobury Mortimer, won bronze in that section.

Shrewsbury Food Festival won gold in the Tourism Event/Festival of the Year section while The Shropshire Distillery claimed silver in the Experience of the Year category.

Telford International Centre secured silver in the Business Events Venue of the Year  section while Alderford Lake claimed silver in the Large Visitor Attraction of the Year category.

there was also a silver for Marrington Escapes in the New Tourism Business Award  category with Ludlow's Kin Kitchen taking the bronze.

Fishmore Hall was the gold medallist in the Small Serviced Accommodation of the Year section with Goldstone Hall Hotel & Gardens and Broome Park Farm B&B taking silver and bronze.

Burlton Cottages & Spa, Ironbridge View Townhouse and Puddle Duck Cottages made up the top three in the Self-Catering Accommodation of the Year  category.

Burlton Cottages & Spa also won a bronze in the Accessible & Inclusive Tourism Award  section.

Hosted at The Bear Grylls Adventure in Solihull, the awards celebrated the hard work and dedication of the West Midlands’ visitor attractions and venues to providing excellent visitor experiences.

The event was hosted by Ayo Akinwolere, former Blue Peter presenter and current BBC journalist and presenter, with entertainment from Birmingham three-piece band, Yung Bruddas.

Andrew Lovett, chair of the West Midlands Tourism and Hospitality Advisory Board, said: “This year’s West Midlands Tourism Awards gave us the opportunity to come together to applaud the talent, business acumen and hard work of our tourism sector.

“With an evening of celebration and entertainment, we paid tribute to the visitor attractions, events, accommodation, and hospitality venues, which have helped the region to secure record visitors, create jobs and grow the tourism economy.

“These awards get better each year and I thank the judges for their dedication in drawing out the best of the best. Congratulations to the winners and runners-up in each category, all of whom can be extremely proud. We hope the winners go on to even wider recognition at the national awards later this year.”

The winners (gold) and runners-up (silver) from the 2024 West Midlands Tourism Awards automatically qualify for the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, to be held in June, where the winners will be in with a chance of recognition as national champions.

The awards are supported by the West Midlands Growth Company, the region’s official destination marketing agency. This year's awards sponsors included University College Birmingham, Discus Cyber Security Services, Birmingham and West Midlands Convention Bureau and Pertemps Network Group.