Northumberland Tourism

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Northumberland win ten of the fifteen categories in North East England Tourism Awards

: 29 Mar 2022

Northumberland won ten of the fifteen categories in the North East England Tourism Awards, which were announced at the annual awards ceremony on the 24th March.

Northumberland stole the show at the annual awards, achieving gold in two thirds of the available categories, including The Alnwick Garden who won three Gold Awards, one of which was in a new category, ‘Resilience and Innovation in Tourism’.

Held during English Tourism Week this year, the awards play a key role in celebrating and showcasing the range of quality tourism businesses that visitors to the North East encounter and we are thrilled that Northumberland showed such a range of award-winning services. The tourism sector continues to be the fourth largest in the region, highlighting the importance of the businesses working in the sector to the wider economy.

A staggering number of Northumberland businesses also achieved Silver and Bronze in a range of categories, including ‘Pub of the Year’ and ‘Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year’ which Northumberland businesses dominated by achieving all four available awards, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Highly Commended.

The full list of Gold Northumberland winners is:

Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award – Vindomora Country Lodges

B&B and Guest House of the Year – Market Cross Guest House

Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year – Beacon Hill Hideaways

Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism – Laverock Law Cottages & Glamping

Resilience and Innovation Award – The Alnwick Garden

Experience of the Year – The Alnwick Garden

Pub of the Year – The Blackbird

Self-Catering Provider of the Year – St Oswald’s Farm

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year – Kielder Observatory

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year – The Alnwick Garden

Andrew Fox, chair of Visit Northumberland, said: “Year after year, Northumberland sees fantastic results in the North East England Tourism Awards, and this year is no different. It’s fantastic to see our tourism businesses celebrated for their award-winning and outstanding services, particularly after the difficulties they, and the whole industry, have faced over the last two years.

“Tourism is extremely valuable in Northumberland, in 2019 the industry brought in £1.04 billion and employed over 13,000 people directly. That’s why it’s important that we commend the individuals who work hard to offer outstanding visitor experiences and I would like to congratulate all of those who were recognised in the awards.”

The awards were once again sponsored by Newcastle College and Bidfood. Students from both Newcastle College and Gateshead College also supported the evening with photography, videography and hospitality service. A raffle was also held on the night with money raised going towards the Blackfriars, Cook for Ukraine appeal.

Full list of Northumberland awards:

Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award

Gold- Vindomora Country Lodges

B&B and Guest House of the Year

Gold- Market Cross House

Highly Commended- Old Rectory Howick

Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year

Gold- Beacon Hill Hideaways

Silver- Woodland Chase Glamping

Bronze- Vindomora Country Lodges

Highly Commended- Walkmill Campsite

Ethical, Response and Sustainable Tourism