Large Attraction of the Year

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bristolairport.co.uk

Large Attraction of the Year

This category is for visitor attractions with 75,000 visitors a year or more, including those that offer pre-booked tickets, museums and galleries, churches and cathedrals, interpretation centres, theme parks, historic houses, gardens, country parks, heritage railways and castles. To enter this award your business must offer visitors an exceptional standard of service and an outstanding, memorable experience.

If you won gold in the VisitEngland Awards 2018 in this category you are not eligible to enter this year. If you have won gold in this category in the South West for two or more years we’d advise considering a differentaward or offering to help us with judging

Please give details of the person we should contact with regard to this entry. Note that the email given here will be the email address we will use for all future correspondence.

Contact name:

Business name (that may be used in future publicity):

Full business address:

County:

Postcode:

Telephone number:

Main contact email address:

Twitter:

Website:

Details of any other websites you would like us to look at regarding your entry:

When is your business closed?

How long you have been operating as a business?

How many staff do you employ (full and part time, including yourselves)?

Please give a brief description of your business (max 200 words).

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1.How has business been over the last 12 months and how does it compare with previous years (if available). If you have them what % of repeat visitors do you have and what are your high and low season visitor numbers (max 200 words).

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Checklist

In your answer think about the following:

□Whether visitor numbers have gone up, or down, and why?

□If relevant any products, packages, partnerships or promotions you have implemented to improve low season visitor numbers

2.Please list any awards, accreditations and accolades achieved in the last two years. Include title, organising body, level and date achieved eg VAQAS, Code of Practice, local awards schemes, TripAdvisor certificates, GTBS etc.

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3.What makes your business special and why should you win this award (max 300 words)?

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Checklist

□What makes you different from your competitors and worthy of an award?

4.With regard to your customer service what do you do to ensure your visitors have a memorable time when they are with you (max 300 words)?

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Checklist

□Are there any ‘added extras’ you offer to surprise your visitors?

□Detail what you do to exceed expectations, prior, during and after the visit?

□How do you gather and use feedback?

5.What improvements and/or developments have you made to your business to improve your customers’ experience within the last 2 years (max 300 words)?

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Checklist

□Examples could include facilities, new experiences, menus etc

□Was it a result of customer feedback?

□What has been the impact eg % increase in positive feedback, sales etc.

6.What facilities and services do you offer to ensure that your business is inclusive and accessible to all (max 300 words)?

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Checklist

□Details of any specific training undertaken eg Welcome All

□In what alternative formats can you provide information about your business?

□How do you promote the accessibility of your establishment? Is there a link from your home page to information eg to an accessibility guide with images? Find out more about accessibility guides here visitbritain.org/writing-accessibility-guide

□Does your website have information on accessibility via road and public transport (downloadable maps), wifi, mobile signal etc

□Don’t forget anything you do with regard to sensory, auditory, dietary and allergen requirements.

□For more information Visit England have ten tips to be more inclusive here visitbritain.org/sites/default/files/vb-corporate/top_10_tips_inclusive_tourism.pdf

7.What steps have you taken to be more sustainable, ethical and responsible eg reducing your environmental impact, supporting your local economy/community, maximising employee benefits and how has this benefited your business (max 300 words)?

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Checklist

□Do you use local staff, suppliers, services, products eg food and drink etc?

□What have you done regarding re-using, recycling, reducing - energy use, waste, water, plastics etc, using eco friendly/fair-trade/energy efficient products etc?

□Do you encourage your staff/visitors to get involved eg feedback, suggestion box, using public transport, reuse towels etc?

□How do you promote your actions to visitors/staff?

□How do you work with the local community and charities?

□Do you offer employment advice and work experience to schools and colleges?

□If you have staff do you pay the National Living Wage?

□How do you promote other local businesses, services, events, attractions?

□Find out how to maximise your sustainability here visitbritain.org/maximising-your-sustainability

8.What innovative marketing have you done to attract new and repeat business and what was the result eg increased bookings etc (max 300 words)?

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Checklist

□Detail any packages you offer or marketing partnerships with other businesses

□Give examples of innovative promotional campaigns

□Investments in film, photography or VR

□Upgrades to your website/online booking and/or ‘book direct’ messages

□Innovative use of social media

□Include links to online marketing activities and PR

9.Have you (and your staff if appropriate) undertaken any training in the past two years which has resulted in improved customer service (max 300 words)?

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Checklist

□This could include courses, workshops, conferences, networking events, staff briefing, online courses etc

□Give details of any customer service awards, accolades or accreditation you have received.

10.If you provide food and drinkon site what makes it special (max 300 words)?

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Checklist

□Is it the locally sourced produce and the way that you promote it?

□The creative menu choices?

□The way it is prepared and presented?

□Your customer service?

□Something else?

What to do now

□Please return your entry as a WORD document along with any supporting evidence (max one attachment of less than 5MB) by email to before the closing date given on the website.

□Future communications will be from Services for Tourism Ltd, who manage the Tourism Awards. Their email address is . Please add this address to your address book, to avoid communications being treated as Spam/Junk; if you do not add this address and are awaiting news please ensure you check your Spam/Junk folders to see if news is being filtered out.

□We will contact the email address given on this entry form so please ensure that this is the correct address for all future correspondence.

□We reserve the right to split or merge categories if the volume or diversity of entrants warrants it. We also reserve the right to move entries from one category to another should this result in a better ‘category match’. Should either of these changes occur we will consult with all businesses affected.

□All entrants will receive feedback. We will arrange visits (mystery visits where possible) to the top scoring entries. In general we will try to visit or mystery shop as many businesses as we can.

□It is a requirement of entry that you agree to waive or refund the cost of a mystery visit should a mystery visit arranged. Please ensure that all your staff are aware of this. A mystery visit will normally comprise a visit including relevant meals and refreshments, for up to 2 visitors (or 5 for a family attraction). Note should you be nominated in the national VisitEngland awards a further visit may take place. Receipt of your entry is taken as agreement to this requirement. If your internal procedures require you to issue a purchase order or set up Services for Tourism Ltd as a supplier, please ensure this is done as soon as a visit has taken place.

□For entrants that are nominated to represent the region in the VisitEngland awards your entry is taken as agreement that we may share our mystery shop reports with the VisitEngland judges.

□By submitting this completed form to us you agree to be bound to our terms and conditions of entry [terms-of-entry]. Any data you provide will be handled in accordance with our privacy policy [privacy-policy]. We reserve the right to amend our terms of entry and privacy policy from time to time, and when we do those new versions will be provided on our website. The most up to date version of any terms/policies hosted on our site will bind you and us.

All entry forms are copyright Services for Tourism Ltd 2018.

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