Major foodservice organisation Bidfood and leading education provider Newcastle College help to shine a light on the region’s innovative tourism, hospitality and visitor experience businesses and the inspiring individuals that work in the sector.
Now in its 21st year of celebrating the region’s innovative and distinctive tourism and hospitality offer, the North East England Tourism Awards are returning to Newcastle Civic Centre on 29th February for a glittering awards ceremony, backed by headline sponsor, Gateshead based Bidfood, one of the UK’s leading foodservice providers, who have a wealth of experience supplying the tourism and hospitality sector from independent hotels through to some of the region’s most revered venues.
They are joined by Newcastle College, renowned for their industry-embedded hospitality and tourism education programmes, who have come on board as event sponsors.
Delivered by Destination North East England and run in partnership with VisitEngland, the awards celebrate quality, innovation, and best practice, showcasing the fantastic range of high-quality experiences on offer for visitors in our region.
The full list of 2024 finalists can be found here: https://tickets.northeasttourismawards.co.uk/finalists-announced-for-2024-north-east-england-tourism-awards/
The awards bring together the area’s most innovative and exciting hotels, restaurants, visitor attractions and industry trailblazers across 15 categories – which are themselves sponsored by a diverse array of businesses who are equally as passionate about showcasing the region and its visitor offer.
Category sponsors include open-access rail operator Lumo, the region’s dedicated screen agency North East Screen and specialist recruitment agency Adkins & Cheurfi. They are joined by North of Tyne Combined Authority, Sunderland City Council, South Tyneside Council, Visit County Durham, Visit Northumberland, drinks reception sponsor Christie & Co, Everything Managed Group, North East Hotels Association, TXGB and Foodbuy.
A new addition to the event will be an army of innovative ‘Butler Bots’ supplied by local ePOS provider Spark ePOS. These autonomous bots, hugely popular in Asia, have been brought to the UK’s shores and are already delighting guests by delivering room service at Newcastle’s Maldron Hotel. They will be on hand to interact and snap pictures with guests and provide a unique talking point on the night.
A significant date in the calendar for the North East’s visitor economy, the awards will be hosted by one of the region’s biggest advocates, presenter and public speaker Charlie Charlton, as businesses and individuals from across the region battle it out to take home a gong at the ‘BAFTAs of the North East’s tourism industry’.
In what is set to be an inspirational night of celebration, a special Outstanding Contribution to Tourism award, introduced for the awards’ 20th anniversary in 2023, will be handed out to a trailblazing duo who have been pivotal in showcasing the region to a national and international audience –further details will be revealed on the night.
Speaking of their excitement to returning to join the celebration, Bidfood’s Head of Business Development for the North East, Susan Justice said:
“We are delighted to be the headline sponsor the North East England Tourism Awards this year and cannot wait to celebrate the success of our great region. Tourism is a hugely important for the North East and provides incredible opportunities for the region, its visitors and its residents,”
Scott Bullock, Principal of Newcastle College commented:
“Newcastle College is proud to once again, support the North East England Tourism Awards, which is always a highlight in the year for our region and our students.
“We work closely with NewcastleGateshead Initiative and with local venues and destinations to help prepare young people in our region for their future career, and the Tourism Awards are always a fantastic opportunity for our learners to gain new skills and experience. We look forward to another excellent event that shines an important light on the North East’s tourism industry.”
Destination North East England is led by NewcastleGateshead Initiative on behalf of the region, working with delivery partners Visit Northumberland and Visit County Durham and in in partnership with all seven local authorities to unlock the growth potential of the visitor economy.
Destination North East England Chair, John Marshall added:
“The North East England Tourism Awards are a shining example of the power of coming together as a sector to shine a light on the world-class visitor experience offer we have here in the North East. Through Destination North East England we are working collaboratively with our delivery partners Visit County Durham and Visit Northumberland and in partnership with all seven local authority partners to unlock the potential of our visitor economy and I am delighted to see representation from so many diverse, innovative and exceptional businesses and individuals from right across the region.”
Winners of the North East England Tourism Awards have the chance to progress through to the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, giving visitor economy businesses the opportunity to compete on national stage and showcase their business among the best in the country.