VisitEngland Reveals National Finalists for 2026 Awards for Excellence

VisitEngland has announced the finalists for the tourism industry’s national Awards for Excellence.

The VisitEngland Awards for Excellence have been championing the best in England’s tourism industry for more than 35 years and celebrate quality, innovation, best practice and exceptional customer service. Finalists represent the very highest standards across accessibility, accommodation, attractions, experiences, food and drink, and business events, showcasing the strength and diversity of English tourism.

VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said: “These awards honour the very best businesses and individuals in tourism, who are the driving force in an industry that delivers growth to local economies across England. I thank them for their dedicated service, congratulate them on achieving finalist status and wish them every success.”

The 53 finalists, selected following a rigorous judging process by handpicked tourism industry experts, will now go on to compete in 16 core categories at this year’s awards. There will also be three special awards, including the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award’, the ‘Travel Content Award’ and the ‘Tourism Superstar Award’.

This VisitEngland Awards for Excellence worked in collaboration with 21 local competitions across England with 369 winners automatically put forward for national recognition.

Tourism is one of England’s largest, most valuable industries - supporting hundreds of thousands of small-to-medium sized businesses, more than two million jobs and worth £127 billion to the economy in England.

VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2026 finalists: