It is time again to celebrate the very best tourism businesses and experiences the South and South East has to offer. The Beautiful South Tourism Awards 2020/21 were launched today by Tourism South East and headline sponsor, The Grand Brighton.

With 24 categories to choose from this year including a new Innovation in Tourism category, there are even more opportunities for businesses to be recognised for their achievements over the last 18 months. As well as the kudos of being crowned the best of their kind in the South East and the raised profile that comes with being a finalist, all entrants receive feedback from independent judges who are experts in the field. For the third year in a row the judging process will culminate in a celebration even at The Grand Hotel Brighton on 8 December.

In launching the Beautiful South Awards, Fran Downton, CEO of Tourism South East said,

''In tourism, like any other industry, quality counts and the best at what they do are the most successful. Every year the Beautiful South Awards and our performance in Visit England's national Awards For Excellence show that we have businesses as good if not better than any in the country and some are truly world class. Their fantastic quality makes our role of promoting the South East so much easier and it's one of the main reasons we are the most popular UK tourist region outside London. But we want their success to inspire others and that's why we run the Beautiful South Awards each year. With more categories this year, I am hoping for a record number of entries.''

General Manager of headline sponsor, The Grand Brighton said, "We are more than thrilled to sponsor the Beautiful South Awards for the third year running. These awards really highlight the standout and thriving hospitality businesses we have on our doorstep in the South East area and we very much look forward to welcoming the Tourism South East team again in December. Best of luck to everyone in this year's awards!"

The Awards are now open for entry and businesses are encouraged to start their application at the earliest opportunity. Entry forms can be downloaded from www.beautifulsouthawards.co.uk and need to be submitted by the 26 April 2020.

Ends

More information about Tourism South East can be found at www.tourismsoutheast.com or telephone Georgina Coleman, Membership Manager on 023 8062 5451.

Contacts for Beautiful South Awards

Nell Barrington, Services for Tourism Ltd, awards@beautifulsouthawards.co.uk 

T 07968807022.

Beautiful South Awards Categories

Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award 

B&B and Guest House of the Year

Business Events Venue of the Year sponsored by VisitBrighton

Café/Tearoom of the Year

Camping & Holiday Park of the Year

Dog Friendly Business of the Year

Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award

Experience of the Year (Active or Learning)

Glamping Business of the Year sponsored by Booking.com

International Tourism Award sponsored by Elavon

Large Hotel of the Year sponsored by Hotel Perfect

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year 

New Tourism Business Award

Pub of the Year 

Restaurant/Bistro of the Year

Self Catering Accommodation of the Year sponsored by Quality in Tourism

Small Hotel of the Year 

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year 

Spa and Wellbeing Experience of the Year sponsored by Jarrang

Tourism Event/Festival of the Year

Tourism Innovation Award

Unsung Hero Award

Visitor Information Service of the Year

Wedding Venue of the Year

Sponsorship

Awards sponsorship opportunities still exist – for information please contact Robin Barker, Services for Tourism, rbarker@services4tourism.co.uk or 07870 397438

Note to Editors

Tourism South East is a leading membership-based tourism organisation and provider of tourism services operating across South and South East England.  www.tourismsoutheast.com

The Beautiful South Awards are a Tourism South East event but judging is undertaken by independent industry experts.

Organisation of the Beautiful South Awards is conducted on behalf of Tourism South East by Services for Tourism Ltd. Services for Tourism has an excellent track-record of delivering this and other regional award programmes.