Beginners Guide

1.Why enter the awards?

Put simply, awards are about documenting a journey which is about you being the best you can be. Everyone likes to win – but whether or not you achieve an award on the ‘night’, you will be better as a result of the process of taking part. By applying, you will put a spotlight on your operation and shown how to look at it from the customer perspective. By comparing with your competitors, you will challenge yourself to be better. At the end of the process, you will be well on your way to achieving excellence and this will have a positive impact on your profit. Customers will happily pay a premium for a better experience, staff will be more motivated, settled and committed, your team will have a shared sense of pride and purpose and you will all be working towards a common set of goals.

Celebrating local excellence

Some award winners in 2023/24 from left to right:​

• Experience of the Year - Dark Chester Tour​
• Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year - Manor Wood Country Caravan Park​
• Self-Catering Accommodation of the Year - Enjoy the Pause Holiday Home​
• Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award – Chester Zoo​
• Wedding Venue of the Year – Walton Hall and Gardens​

Top 5 reasons

VisitEngland carries out a nomination survey with all entrants that participate in the regional awards every year – interesting to note that winning an award is not the main reason for entering!  A marque of quality assurance is an official endorsement and gives potential customers another reason to book with you.

• To provide a marque of quality assurance to customers: 64%
• For PR and media coverage: 57%
• To gain recognition from and/or influence with local partners: 52%
• To get independent feedback/benchmarking for my business: 51%
• For the chance to go on and win regionally/nationally: 51%

The benefits of entering

• A marque of quality assurance for use in marketing
  This is an official endorsement, helps you to stand out from your competitors and provides a justified reason for potential customers to book with you.
• Increase media coverage and PR opportunities
  Becoming a finalist and going on o win an award is newsworthy.  It provides a great opportunity to generate media interest both locally in our awards and if you go further, getting national coverage too.  National wines are promoted through VisitEngland’s consumer communication channels.
• Recruitment, retention and reward for staff
  Being an award winner can help you attract high quality staff and increase staff motivation and loyalty.  As well as engender a feeling of pride within those who work for you, it is also a great opportunity to reward your staff and recognise their contribution to the business.​  
• Regional and national recognition
  Core categories (those marked with an *) are automatically put forward to the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.   Potential customers could then recognise your business as not only being one of the best tourism businesses in Cheshire and Warrington, but in the country! ​
• Free independent feedback on your business
  All entrants receive free feedback on their entry to help them improve in future. If you receive a visit you will also be given a report on this which will enable you to identify areas where improvements could be made and also find out where you excel.​
• Gain a competitive edge​ and review your business
  Competing against businesses in your area can give you a benchmark and a tangible level of success to aim for.  ​

​The process of applying for an award is a useful business management exercise. It helps you step back, reflect on your business and identify areas for future development.​ You can find more details about why people apply at Visit Englands Awards for Excellence

See what previous winners of the Marketing Cheshire Tourism Awards have to say.

2. The nomination process

The annual awards ceremony begins with a series of local competitions taking place around England, then winners for core categories are put through to the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.  This is why it is very important to submit a strong initial nomination – as if you win at local level, this nomination will be carried forward to the national competition.​

This is the list of core categories as outlined by VisitEngland.  Entrants can:

• Enter as many as are appropriate to their business
• Check the eligibility requirements at the start of the entry process, you must meet these before starting your nomination
• If you’re not certain that you meet a specific criteria, please do contact us and we can help.​

Winners from these categories, will be put through to the national awards and if any Cheshire or Warrington businesses are finalists, will have the opportunity to represent our region at the national Awards which will be hosted in June 2025. ​ You may also enter local awards that are specific to Marketing Cheshire and are not eligible for national awards, these are: Best Tourism Marketing Project of the Year ​, Best Event or Festival​ (NEW for 2025), Team of the Year ​, Wedding Venue of the Year.

The nomination system

We use an online system called OpenWater for the entry procedure. You don’t need to register just to access details about the awards.  We have loads of information here: Marketing Cheshire Tourism Awards 2025 - Cheshire and Warrington.

However, to enter you will need to register and complete the nomination forms online. You will find the entry link here How to enter our awards - Cheshire and Warrington. The system is very user friendly and we will be on hand to help if you have any queries. You can save your entry as you go along and print it out, should you wish to share it with others, so you don’t need to do it all in one go.​ There are some important things to note that will help you make full use of the system;

• You will need to register to create a login, so that you can save and submit your nomination​
• You can delegate the nomination to a colleague if necessary, however do consider that all communication regarding progress of your entry and ultimately feedback from judges will all go to the email address used to submit your entry.​
• The system will strip out any formatting attached to data you cut and paste across from another source. If you are using cut and paste from a Word document, you will need to use Ctrl-V rather than the 'paste' option​
• You must double check all formatting, especially URL links​
• Text boxes will cut-out at the word limit​
• Anything with an '*' is mandatory and the nomination will not submit until those fields are completed​
• You will not be able to access/amend nominations once the deadline has passed​
• Double check that your nomination has been submitted and not marked as 'incomplete’​
• There is no limit to the number of entries that you can submit, however we recommend that you work on 1-2 entries initially, and once complete, if time allows, start on further nominations if you wish.
• If you are going to enter more than one category, don’t just cut and paste the same answers across all your entries, but ensure your answers are tailored to the relevant category. For example, if you run a small hotel with a restaurant and wanted to enter Small Hotel and Taste of the Year, you will need to provide different information for each entry, with one relating to the hotel side the other the food.​

Practical tips for submission

We recommend that that you compete your answers in a word document or use the practice forms which you can save and return to as required. When you are happy with your answers, cut and paste into the online nomination.

• Check that you are eligible to enter
• Check the entry terms and conditions
• Read the criteria carefully to ensure that you choose right category or categories
• Start preparing your entry early – the deadline cannot be extended.
• Answer all questions fully , do not leave blank and use all your word count
• Read the criteria and answer what is asked, not something else
• Assume the judges know nothing and have never heard of your business. Tell your story, sell yourself/your business and provide facts that show your successes
• Be aware that the judges will look at websites, social media and TripAdvisor
• Put yourself in the judges’ shoes. Is it easy to read, with relevant information, is it inspiring?
• Make sure you check your spellings
• Get a colleague to read through before you submit
• Good presentation is important – don’t be shy – this is your time to shine!
• Allow plenty of time to gather relevant information and write your nomination
• Prepare your nomination early, don’t leave to the last minute as the deadline cannot be extended and there may be issues uploading your file
• Submit your nomination before the deadline date of 5pm, 30 August 2024
  

Eligibility Criteria

Once you have selected the award(s) you want to enter, you must read the eligibility criteria at the start of the entry form to ensure you are entering the right category.  If you are unsure, please contact us at this stage.  We would recommend that you enter and complete one or two categories and if you have time and wish to enter more and time allows, then do so following submission of your first entry. For all entries you must be "Directly involved in tourism, making a contribution to the visitor economy with a significant proportion of business generated by people visiting from outside the local area“.​

​3.Completing your nomination

When preparing your entry for the Awards, it's essential to set the scene with detailed and engaging background information for the judges. Start by craft a compelling promotional description highlighting your business's strengths and unique features relevant to the category. Develop a narrative covering your business's history, target market, key milestones, size, and staff. List any awards, ratings, or accolades received in the last two years, such as industry or customer service awards. Finally, ensure your online presence is robust and up-to-date, reflecting your commitment to excellence and engagement with your audience.

Setting the scene

The start of the entry form is not scored. It gives you an opportunity to provide background information for the judges.

Please use the business name as you wish it to appear in all publicity materials, certificates, presentations, should you be a winner – this is very important as it will be used in any PR relating to the event.

• Provide a 120-word promotional description of your business, focusing on its strengths and stand out features, relevant to the category you are entering.  
• Use up to 3 x high resolution photos (jpeg, jpg, png format) that showcase your business, relating to the category you are entering. They should not be edited in any way, including embedded text, logos or a collage.  
• ONLY include photos that you own the copyright for. If it requires a third-party credit such as photographer name, there is a box for you to include their details. It’s important to select your images carefully
• Any text or images you provide will be used for PR, social media locally, or by VisitEngland if you are successful so ensure they’re inspirational and your best advert.​
• Please ensure you include any accessibility or sustainability information related to your operation, in any of your nominations.

You then have 250 words to briefly outline the story of your business, e.g.: Length of time business has been trading and time under current ownership​, target market(s) and typical customer profile​, key milestones in developing the business​, indication of size of business​, number of staff employed, if any​.

The final element in this section is to look at awards, ratings and accolades that you have received in the last two years. You should include the title, awarding body, level and date achieved. They could include:​ Successes in this competition and the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence​; TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence​ ; Green Tourism award​; Chamber of Commerce or other industry body awards​; Local awards​; Specialist awards​; Customer service awards​; VisitEngland and/or AA quality assessment, local quality accreditation​.

For specific categories like the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award, there may be other relevant awards e.g; Accessibility certification e.g. National Accessible Scheme, Autism Friendly Award​, Disability Confident employer scheme​, Annual awards for accessibility. There is no requirement for your business to be quality assessed. However, if you have independent quality assessments or mystery shopping reports from the last two years, you can upload them if you wish. ​

For each question you have the option to provide supporting evidence for your nomination. This is not compulsory. There are key considerations - for example, you might want to include links to your pages on your website that include information relevant to the section you are answering. 

Judges will do a thorough review of your online presence and will research most content, so if you are providing additional information over and above what is publicly available, make sure it genuinely adds an extra dimension to your answer. It is therefore not generally necessary to link to public pages on your website, or provide additional photos, unless illustrating something specific from within the nomination that can't be found elsewhere online.​

Evidence that adds value

If you want to show the judges any ‘behind the scenes’ information or data that is relevant to your nomination, you can include links to ‘hidden’ pages on your website that are not viewable by the public. Any individual supporting documents will need to be placed in a cloud folder (e.g. - one drive/ google/ dropbox) and the URL for that added to your entry rather than individual documents.​ It’s not possible to add individual supporting documents directly to your entry.​

Scored sections

You need to provide links here to your online presence: Provide relevant links ​to any business pages/profiles on Facebook, Instagram, other social media. and X (formerly Twitter) handles. Provide specific links to customer review listings for your business e.g. TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Facebook, Google, Euan’s Guide, UpFront Reviews. Your website. Sustainability policy/ information. Accessibility guide/ information.

You will also need to provide evidence of commitment in relation to the award you are entering.  So for Accessible and Inclusive Tourism and Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism​ you will need to provide evidence of your business supporting this.

Other sites not listed in your entry will also be looked at, so you can't hide bad reviews or lack of engagement etc.

If you go through to the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, this section will be revisited by the national judges.  So make sure that all your digital platforms are up to date before you submit your entry and are maintained throughout the year, as the national judging is likely to take place in March 2025.​ The awards are all about excellence, so the judges will be looking at how you excel in this area and how you engage with your target markets. VisitEngland has produced a Digital Marketing Toolkit to highlight how you could improve your online presence. This can help you to make best use of social media, manage your website, produce great content and use Google to your advantage.  ​

The top tips from the toolkit are:​

• Tag images with Alt-text to improve search-ability and site accessibility​
• Use free Google My Business posts to promote new products or seasonal offers​
• Link AdWords to your Google Analytics account to make campaigns easier to track​
• Use Facebook ads to target users by location, interests and even purchase history.​

Points to consider are:

• How you are reassuring/encouraging visitors and showing how you are providing a safe, welcoming place to visit​
• Ensuring that your website is fully accessible and responsive​
• How you are engaging with visitors: are you posting regularly with interesting content and film, do you promote special offers, are you making best use of the platforms (e.g. booking through Facebook), sharing user generated content, having conversations with potential visitors, generally being sociable?  ​
• How are you responding to reviews? ​
• Are they personalised, do you show how you are acting on feedback, are you using them as an opportunity to encourage repeat visits?  ​
• How do deal with a negative review? A good format for response is often: ​ Acknowledge​, Defuse​, Detail​, Resolve​.

Further information from Round 1 Judging Matrix:​ ​What excellent online presence looks like;

• Business & Destination Inspiration:​ After reviewing the business’s online presence, you are inspired to visit.​ Creative and inspirational content​, Great tone of voice, sense of place​, Professional, high quality, inspirational and diverse imagery – e.g. photos, videos, 360 tours​, High levels of engagement – e.g. more engaging content such as podcasts, vlogs, blogs, webcams, links to destination organisations for destination inspiration; respond to/ act on user generated content; interactive online activities​, Creative use of platform functionality – e.g. online booking, events information/ what’s on listings​, Reaching wider audiences – e.g. use of Weibo to attract Chinese visitors; develop activity on TikTok to attract a different audience demographic​
• ​Information (all categories):​ User-friendly (mobile responsive, easily found via SEO), intuitive navigation​, Up-to-date – e.g. live updates, announcements, closures, special offers​, General Content – e.g. availability, opening times, secure booking, prices, parking, facilities, things to do, menus, events, contact info (address, phone, e-mail, social media, live chat), T&Cs, policies​, Location Content – e.g. interactive maps (google), directions (road, public transport, cycle routes), parking​, Enhanced Content – e.g. interactive site/ orientation maps, translation, itineraries, local weather, local traffic, destination information, user generated content​, Accessibility – e.g. online content (accessibility guide, captions, colour contrast, font type and size), accessibility of business itself​, Sustainability – e.g. policy, discounts for using public transport​
• ​Chain/ group websites:​ Information available via generic/ central website combined with more local/bespoke site specific information via social media​, (e.g. local sites may have limited influence over the parent company website), however the focus should be on visitor experience and if the site-specific information is lacking, the score should reflect this, even though the local team may not be able to control this. However, if steps are being taken at a local level to supplement the website information with bespoke local information via social channels (for example) this could enhance the overall offering to achieve a better score. However, if both the website and the social media does not offer the level of local detail expected, then the score should reflect this.​
• Accessible & Inclusive Tourism Award:​ Accessibility information with link to AccessAble Detailed Access Guide​, Clear font, with no text over imagery​, Videos have captions/sub-titles​, Accessibility is clearly a core aspect of online strategy​, Interesting and inspirational accessibility related activity/ updates​, Imagery features disabled people​, Website accessibility statement​, For more examples of best practice, visit the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Toolkit for Businesses​

4. The judging process

Every category will undertake first round judging based on your written nomination.

The process for the judging the Visit England awards begins with businesses submitting their entry forms on OpenWater. Initial judging, including eligibility checks, and takes place in Round 1 - nominations may be informed if they advance to Round 2, which includes visits for most categories. Local winners are decided by a judging panel, and finalists are invited to the Marketing Cheshire Tourism Awards where winners are announced. Regions nominate finalists to VisitEngland, and businesses are informed if they have been shortlisted for the national awards. The final judging uses local judge data and recent online presence research, culminating in the national winners being revealed at the VisitEngland Awards event. The following categories will be subject to round 1 judging only:  Best Event or Festivals, Best Tourism Marketing Project of the Year, Team of the Year, Unsung Hero and Wedding Venue of the Year.  Those listed below will also be subject to round 1 and 2 judging as detailed:

Note that finalists from the following categories only will have second stage judging:

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Next steps...

Submit your nomination, read our digital toolkit "summit an award wining nomination".