TravelMole

VisitEngland has revealed the winners of its 2026 Awards for Excellence. The winners were announced during an event on 3 June, at Aerospace Bristol.

Gold, Silver and Bronze were awarded in 17 categories selected from 21 local awards. They ranged from ‘Regenerative Tourism Award’ to ‘Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award’ and from ‘New Tourism Business of the Year’ to ‘Self-Catering Accommodation of the Year’.

The prestigious VisitEngland Awards for Excellence have been running for more than 35 years and celebrate and champion the quality, innovation, best practice and exceptional customer service of England’s tourism industry. The awards recognize businesses including hotels, self-catering accommodation, B&Bs, glamping operators, attractions, restaurants, pubs and museums and individuals who continuously raise the bar across the sector.

Tourism Minister Stephanie Peacock said:

“I am delighted to see so many businesses across England being recognized for their outstanding work, helping to make people’s stays as enjoyable and memorable as possible.

“From hotels and pubs to glamping, museums and experiences, these awards are a real testament to those striving to ensure our tourism industry remains outstanding. Our upcoming Visitor Economy Growth Strategy will provide a clear, long-term plan to unlock investment, back businesses and showcase more of our great destinations to the world.”

VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said:“The awards are a celebration of England’s outstanding tourism industry and an opportunity to highlight the excellence that makes it world leading.

“From a hands-on, traditional blacksmith’s visitor experience in the Midlands and a castle hotel and spa set in one of our national parks to accessible and inclusive holidays, these awards showcase the exceptional quality, unparalleled customer service and innovation that drive our industry.

“I congratulate the wonderful range of first-class award recipients, all of whom are so passionate about tourism. They are all deserving winners.”

In addition to the 16 core category winners, three special awards were presented including the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award’, the ‘Tourism Superstar Award’ and the ‘Travel Content Award’.

The ‘Outstanding Contribution to Tourism’ award went to Butlin’s in recognition of its 90 years delivering great family holiday experiences.

The ‘Travel Content of the Year’ award was presented to the Guardian’s Rhiannon Batten for her article ‘From farms to fork: a food-lover’s cycle tour of Herefordshire’.

Worcestershire’s Mick Hurst of the Battle of Evesham historical events and re-enactments won the ‘Tourism Superstar’ award, following a public vote earlier this year.

The Family Holiday Charity is the chosen charity for this year’s event.

Tourism is one of England’s largest, most valuable industries - supporting hundreds of thousands of small-to-medium sized businesses, more than two million jobs and worth £127 billion to the economy in England.