Shortlist announced for The Tourism Excellence Awards 2024-25

from Destination Lincolnshire and Discover Rutland, accredited by VisitEngland

PRESS RELEASE

This list of finalists is a showcase of those who have demonstrated an outstanding level of innovation, commitment, and leadership in the tourism industry across our LVEP region. This year’s awards also celebrate individuals who have gone above and beyond in their roles, as nominated anonymously by their industry peers!

Charlotte Goy, Chief Executive of Destination Lincolnshire, said: “Created to shine a light on businesses across the county, The Tourism Excellence Awards celebrate every aspect of the visitor economy - I'm thrilled to see so many fantastic businesses from across Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland shortlisted in this year's celebration of tourism.

“Seeing applications come in from all areas of our LVEP region, and in numbers which have exceeded our previous years, I know the judging panel had their work cut out for them when it came to marking each submission. A heartfelt congratulations to everyone who made it onto the shortlist – and good luck in the mystery shopping round too; we know our delivery partner, Insight6, will be looking forward to visiting you all. I truly hope to see more of our incredible Lincolnshire businesses represented on the national stage at 2025’s VisitEngland Awards for Excellence."

As we celebrate the businesses that have been shortlisted for this year, it’s now time to look ahead to the next round of judging. An integral part of the selection process, the mystery shopping round will commence immediately and conclude in the new year. This is a crucial step to ensure that our finalists continue to uphold the highest standards of excellence – as set by Visit England - creating memorable experiences for every guest.

The awards ceremony will take place at the Lincolnshire Showground, Grange-de-Lings

Lincoln, LN2 2NA, on Friday, February 28^th, 2025. A glittering celebration, the evening be a wonderful opportunity to raise a glass in recognition of all the hard work, innovation, and dedication that our shortlisted businesses contribute to the ongoing success and growth of Lincolnshire's tourism industry.

With some exciting announcements to come surrounding the awards ceremony, guests attending will enjoy an unforgettable evening of celebration, networking, and appreciation, surrounded by some of the county's most notable figures in the tourism sector as they are joined by leading experts, influencers, and decision-makers.

Charlotte added: “We’ve worked hard to reduce the ticket price this year, with a £10 reduction from 2023’s event which was organised by Stonebow Media. While we’re carefully balancing increased supplier costs, we still want to be able to offer better value to those who will be attending. While this is year one of Destination Lincolnshire organising the awards, we’re working on a longer-term plan through which we hope ticket prices will continue to be reduced year-on-year.”

The perfect platform to showcase the finest in Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland’s tourism industry, tickets are now on sale, early booking is strongly recommended to avoid disappointment.

Book your tickets today

Some sponsorship opportunities are still available, so if you are interested in working with us to sponsor the awards please get in touch with the team (details below). Sponsors will be announced across Destination Lincolnshire’s social channels shortly as mystery shopping continues.

ENDS.

Notes to the Editor

About the Awards:

The Tourism Excellence Awards return this year with a new look and name, following two sell-out events which took place in both 2022 and 2023.  

Now in their sixth year, excluding two absent years for Covid, the awards have been designed to celebrate the success of tourism businesses across Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland as a whole and promote the strength of the business and leisure tourism offer, its venues, people, experiences, and accommodation.

The awards also serve to highlight the importance of tourism’s contribution to the regional economy – currently standing at £2.6bn across Greater Lincolnshire – which Destination Lincolnshire and its industry partners seek to grow over the coming years.

This year’s event has been launched in partnership with Knapton Wright, our marketing and event partner for the event.

Alongside 12 core categories – the winners of which will feed directly into the national Visit England Awards for Excellence and be seen by the national judging panel – this year’s awards feature six regional-only categories, with new categories created to celebrate the people and places that are making our visitor economy shine: The Going Places Award, Outstanding Contribution Award, and Pride in Place Award.

For more information:

For press, imagery, interview or event enquiries please contact Joanne Allen on 07809875458 or email jo@destinationlincolnshire.com

For commercial opportunities including sponsorship, please contact Joanne Allen on 07809875458 or email jo@destinationlincolnshire.com or Holly Christian on 07927353419 or email holly@destinationlincolnshire.co.uk

Destination Lincolnshire is the county’s official Destination Management Organisation (DMO) with Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) accreditation. It has evolved from Visit Lincoln to create an overarching brand which represents the whole visitor economy.

Visitor marketing is carried out through the internationally recognised and much-loved brands Visit Lincoln, Taste Lincolnshire, Cycle Lincolnshire and Meet Lincoln. Designed to be a nurturing hub of support and guidance that helps business owners and operators and inspires them to understand how their contribution creates change for the whole visitor economy, Destination Lincolnshire is supported by businesses and operators within the sector who want to see a joined-up approach.

Destination Lincolnshire represents the entire county and is business-focused. The DMO is dedicated to raising awareness of Lincolnshire as a great place to visit, live, study, meet and invest.