VisitEngland

VisitEngland Awards for Excellence: the judging process

Meet the expert judges behind each national award, and learn more about the decision-making process.

VisitBritain/Michael Cummins

A classic car drives past a pub covered with ivy leaves

VisitEngland Awards for Excellence: the judging process

Winners of core categories at local awards officially aligned with the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence are automatically put forward to the national competition. The national shortlist is then evaluated by the national judging panels, made up of experts in the tourism industry.

Meet the judges for 2023/24 below.

How your entry will be judged

No matter where you are based in the country, your local and national application will be judged against nationally-set standards, with the same scoring criteria and judging guidance for all core categories.

For the local awards, your application will be scored and ranked against other applicants in your category to determine a shortlist. All applicants will receive feedback on how to improve their application, even if they are not shortlisted.

Further rounds of judging, including site visits with further feedback, also form part of the decision process at local competition level. The overall winners of local core categories are then put forward for national judging. For local competitions covering larger areas, additional winners may also be eligible to progress.

National judging panels

VisitEngland appoints industry experts across several judging panels to determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze national winners for each category.

The national judging panelists are selected each year and usually include journalists/ media experts, senior trade/ industry body representatives, sponsors, specialist consultants, VisitEngland Advisory Board Members and VisitEngland/VisitBritain Directors/ subject experts.

If you are interested in being considered as a national judge, please contact the Awards Team before the end of October. The panel meetings are usually held in March.

Please note that panel members are subject to change prior to panel meetings.

The following experts were on the national judging panels for the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2023/24.

Serviced accommodation

The serviced accommodation panel judges the following categories: Bed and Breakfast and Guest House of the Year, Small Hotel of the Year and Large Hotel of the Year.

David Weston

Chairman, Bed and Breakfast Association

Susan Briggs

Director, The Tourism Network and TourismKnowhow.com

Sophie Braybrooke

Chief Executive, Stay in a Pub

Nigel Wilkinson

VisitEngland Advisory Board Member

Scott Davies

Hotel Manager, Titanic Hotel, Liverpool 

Jane Anderson

Travel Editor, Prima magazine and freelance contributor to many publications including iNEWs

Non-serviced accommodation

The non-serviced accommodation panel judges the following categories: Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year, Self-Catering Accommodation of the Year and Unsung Hero.

Nikki Nichol

External Communications and Sponsorship Manager, Caravan and Motorhome Club

Alistair Handyside

Executive Chair Professional Association of Self-Caterers UK Ltd (PASC UK Ltd)

Liz Herridge

Visit Britain Transformation Director

Allan Lambert

VisitEngland Advisory Board Member

Sadie Rowell

Head of Sales, VisitEngland Assessment Services

Emma Featherstone

Deputy Travel Editor, iNews

Attractions and experiences

The attractions and experiences panel judges the following categories: Large Visitor Attraction of the Year, Small Visitor Attraction of the Year and Experience of the Year.

Paul Kelly

Chief Executive, British Association of Leisure Parks Piers and Attractions (BALPPA)

Fiona Pollard

VisitEngland Advisory Board Member

Rachel Read

Co-Founder and Director, Blooloop

Janet Uttley

VisitEngland, Head of Industry Development

Nikki Smith

The Visitor-Marketing Consultancy

Food and drink

The food and drink panel judges the following categories: Pub of the Year, Taste of England Award and New Tourism Business of the Year.

Lorna Parkes

Commissioning Editor, National Geographic Traveller

Paul Nunny

Executive Director, Cask Marque

Tim Pemberton

VisitBritain Deputy Director of Finance

Nadine Thomson

VisitEngland Advisory Board Member

Mardi Roberts

Marketing Director, Ridgeview

Accessibility

The accessibility panel judges the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award category.

Anna Nelson

Chief Executive, AccessAble

Emily Yates

Head of Accessibility and Inclusive Design, Mima

Ross Calladine

VisitEngland Accessibility and Inclusion Lead; Disability and Access Ambassador for Tourism, UK Government

Debra Lang

Director of HR and Professional Services, VisitBritain/VisitEngland

Catherine Woodhead

CEO, Muscular Dystrophy UK

Sustainability

The sustainability panel judges the Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award category.

Julian Gray

Chair, National Trails UK and Director, South West Coast Path

Neil Warren

Sustainable Tourism Consultant, Neil Warren Support

Sarah Fowler

VisitEngland Advisory Board Member

Juliet Kinsman

Sustainable Travel Editor, Evening Standard

Rachel McCaffery

VisitEngland, Senior Sustainability Manager

Kat Emmett

Client Carbon Manager, Zero Carbon Company

Business events

The business events panel judges the Business Events Venue of the Year category.

Paul Szomoru

VisitEngland Regional Development Lead

Martin Fullard

Executive Director at The Business of Events/ Davies Tanner

Rachel Parker

Director at Association of Event Venues

Holly Patrick

Social Editor & Senior Journalist at NorthStar Media

Apply now

Your journey to the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence starts by entering your local competition. Simply complete one application for your regional awards, and if you win you will automatically be submitted to the national awards. Entry dates vary, so sign up to your local awards communication channels to stay updated.

Find your local tourism awards

Tourism Awards Steering Group

The Tourism Awards Steering Group advises VisitEngland on the national categories, eligibility criteria, application forms, scoring matrices and judging guidance for each awards cycle. It currently comprises eight members, in addition to VisitEngland:

Robin Barker

South West Tourism Awards

Dominique Bray

Visit Worcestershire Tourism Awards

Maria Moriarty Eames

Lancashire Tourism Awards

Carolyn Knott

Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards

Lindsay Rae

Peak District, Derbyshire & Derby Tourism Awards

Caroline Reed

North East England Tourism Awards

Janine Williams

Leicestershire Promotions Tourism and Hospitality Awards

Andrea Sammons

Enjoy Staffordshire Tourism and Good Food Awards