Shakespeare's England, the Destination Management Organisation for Warwickshire, has won a prestigious Coventry & Warwickshire Tourism & Cultural Award for the second year running. The organisation won the award in the Business Tourism category. The awards ceremony took place on Thursday 21 September at Coombe Abbey Hotel.
Members of Shakespeare's England who also won awards included Avonlea in Stratford-upon-Avon who won Best Small Hotel/B&B/Inn, Mallory Court Country House Hotel & Spa won Best Hotel, Twisted Barrel Ale, based at FarGo Village won the Artisan Award, Shakespeare's Schoolroom and Guildhall won the Visitor Attraction Award and Bubble Boba, also based at FarGo, won the Customer Care/Team Award. The Royal Shakespeare Company - The Play's The Thing, won the History & Heritage Award and the Tourism Event went to Warwickshire Country Council and University of Warwick in partnership for their work on OVO Energy Women's Cycle Tour. This year Shakespeare's England sponsored the awards scheme in the customer care/team award category.
The event was organised by Touch FM and Rugby FM and supported by Coventry City of Culture Trust - the organisation behind Coventry's bid to be UK City of Culture along with Coventry City Council, Warwickshire County Council, Shakespeare's England and the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.
Helen Peters, Chief Executive of Shakespeare's England stated "We are delighted to have won this prestigious award and to see so many Shakespeare's England Members also celebrating and winning awards. Winning the Business Tourism award is particularly exciting as having a specific Business Tourism focus and strategy is something Shakespeare's England only started in 2016. This is therefore a fantastic acknowledgment of how hard the team have worked in promoting business tourism for the region over the last year".
Jo Billings, Regional Events Director of Quidem Media - the company behind Touch FM and Rugby FM, said: "It was a wonderful celebration of Coventry and Warwickshire's outstanding mix of cultural and tourism businesses, organisations and individuals. Every winner, every finalist and everyone who entered, attended or sponsored the event can be extremely proud of the part they play in what this region has to offer. I would urge the people of this region to look at the award winners, look at the list of finalists and give them a try - there is so much to do in Coventry and Warwickshire and, very often, it's not always appreciated. These awards were designed to make sure they are appreciated and celebrated and this was a fantastic way of showcasing our great region."
For more information on Warwickshire and Shakespeare's England visit http://shakespeares-england.co.uk