Visit York Tourism Awards 2024

14th March 2024, York Racecourse

Sponsored by LNER, the awards recognise and celebrate outstanding businesses and individuals that deliver world class experiences within the city of York.

Returning on the 14th March 2024 at York Racecourse for a black-tie ceremony and an evening of entertainment, there will be 16 Visit York Tourism Awards up for grabs. Eligible winners across a number of categories will be automatically put forward to the national Visit England Awards for Excellence 2024 to compete for the crown of the country’s best.

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Visit York Tourism Awards Finalists 2024

Returning on the 14th March 2024 at York Racecourse for a black-tie ceremony and an evening of entertainment, there will be 16 Visit York Tourism Awards up for grabs.

There are two new categories introduced for the 2024 awards –  ‘The Best of York Award’, and ‘Independent Business of the Year’.

Congratulations to all finalists! Download finalists logos from the Visit York Tourism Awards finalists toolkit.

Business Event Venue of the Year

Finalists:

The Guildhall York
City Cruises

Sponsored by Business Enterprise Fund

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B&B and Guest House of the Year

Finalists:

MonkBridge House
The Bar Convent Guest House
The Fat Badger, York

Sponsor this award category, contact sales@makeityork.com

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Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year

Finalists:

Flaxton Meadows
Wigwam Holidays Ball Hall Farm
High Oaks Grange

Sponsored by Morrell Middleton

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Event, Festival or Cultural Experience of the Year

Finalists:

Christmas at Castle Howard
Hallow Scream at York Maze
York Pride
York Mansion House

Sponsored by North York Moors National Park

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Experience of the Year

Finalists:

Sharmini's Inspirational Indian Cuisine
The Bloody Tour of York
The Deathly Dark Tours
The Wizard Walk of York

Sponsored by LNER

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Independent Business of the Year

Finalists:

Avorium
The Deathly Dark Tours
The Wizard Walk of York
Breezy Knees Gardens
2

Large Hotel of the Year

Finalists:

Middletons Hotel
Moxy York
The Grand

Sponsored by Streamline Taxis

5

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year

Finalists:

The York Dungeon
National Railway Museum
The Web Adventure Park
Yorkshire Air Museum

Sponsored by Ward Hadaway

1

New Tourism Business Award

Finalists:

Hart Lake Escapes
The Wizard Walk of York
Hocus Pocus Tiny Hotel

Sponsored by PPS Essentials

6

Pub of The Year

Finalists:

The Lime Tree Inn
The Fat Badger, York
Social 8 Lounge
The Drovers Arms Restaurant and Country Pub

Sponsored by Hunter Gee Holroyd

7

Retailer of the Year

Finalists:

York Gin
Love Cheese
The Potions Cauldron

Sponsored by York BID

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Self Catering Accommodation of the Year

Finalists:

101 House At The End
Roomzzz Aparthotel York

Sponsor this award category, contact sales@makeityork.com

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Small Hotel of the Year

Finalists:

The Pheasant Hotel
Clementine’s Town House
Hocus Pocus Tiny Hotel

Sponsored by Booking.com

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Small Visitor Attraction of the Year

Finalists:

The Bar Convent Heritage Centre
World of James Herriot
The Hole in Wand
York Army Museum

Sponsor this award category, contact sales@makeityork.com

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Taste of England Award

Finalists:

Legacy at The Grand
Fish & Forest
Ate O’Clock

Sponsored by Fowlers of York

11

The Best of York Award

Finalists:

The Wizard Walk of York
Millers Fish & Chips
The Bloody Tour of York

Sponsored by York St John University

8

Hospitality Hero Award

The ‘Hospitality Hero’ award recognises the contributions of an individual who plays an integral role within a hospitality business, and the vital part they play within their team and in welcoming guests. Nominations are welcome from Visit York and Hospitality Association York (HAY) members. The deadline for applications is 5pm, 21 December 2023.

Download application form
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Judging

The Visit York Tourism Awards are judged by an independent panel of judges.

View our 2024 judging line up ▸

For all awards the first stage is ‘desk judging’ – which is an evaluation of the online applications using a centralised scoring matrix. A shortlist of entrants is then selected from the application who will be our ‘Finalists for 2024’

Our judges look for evidence of excellence and best practice in all areas of the business operation. A strict word limit is set for each section/question and the online system will cut off at the maximum word count.

The finalists are then taken through a second round of judging which will be conducted through a ‘Mystery Shop’* and subsequent report. The judging panel will then meet to make a final decision utilising all the submitted and gathered evidence for the winners.


Mystery Shopping

This year we will continue to work with our Visit York member and local Regional Director, Ian Sadler from Insight6 to carry out the valuable mystery shopping for the awards. Insight6 is one of the UK's leading Customer Intelligence organisations in the UK who work within the tourism sector and carry out thousands of high quality mystery shops every month.

As part of the process applicants of all categories will have the opportunity to meet with Ian and after the awards ceremony will be offered a review meeting to go through the completed report on your business.

*Only two categories this year will not be mystery shopped – Event, Festival or Cultural Experience of the Year and The Best of York Award. The second round of judging for this category will comprise of a face to face interview.

Please note: Shortlisted businesses must agree to waive all costs associated with the mystery shopper process.

All applicants for the 2024 Awards, including those who do not reach the shortlist stage, will receive feedback on their application via the Openwater system.


Terms and Conditions


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