Holiday parks in the Burnham-On-Sea area are celebrating after winning several top accolades at the Bristol, Bath and Somerset Tourism Awards.
The awards, held at Somerset County Cricket Club in Taunton, saw staff from businesses across Somerset watch as 70 trophies were presented to businesses and holiday parks across the region by Laura Rawlings from BBC Radio Bristol and Marcus Trescothick MBE.
Warren Farm Holiday Park in Brean came out on top in the Holiday Park of the Year category, winning gold.
Holiday Resort Unity in Brean narrowly missed out on the gold but scooped up a silver award for Access and Inclusivity with judges describing the holiday park’s new accommodation as ‘state of the art.’
Wall Eden Farm and Adventure Holidays in East Huntspill had a bumper night and collected three bronze awards for Access and Inclusivity, Glamping and Self Catering Business of the Year and Lympsham based, Dulhorn Farm Holiday Park collected a silver accolade for Camping and Caravanning Park of the Year.
The winners were presented with individually crafted, hand inscribed awards by Will Shakspeare, from Shakspeare Glass in Langport.
Sandy Glade Holiday Park in Brean also received a Highly Commended accreditation in the Holiday Park of the Year category and Eat:Festivals won gold for Tourism Event of the Year for Burnham-on-Sea Food Festival.
And Nell Barrington, organiser of the Bristol, Bath and Somerset Tourism Awards, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “These awards showcase the best that Somerset, Bristol and Bath have to offer visitors; from food and drink to attractions, experiences, accommodation and new for this year, guided tours.”
“I hope that as many as possible can go on to win in the South West and then VisitEngland Awards, to raise the profile of this magnificent area.”
Cllr Mike Cresswell, chairman of Sedgemoor District Council, is writing a congratulatory letter to all the local winners and said the awards ‘demonstrated the variety and quality of what the area had to offer visitors’ and he wished them luck as they went forward to the South West Tourism Excellence.
Deborah Matthews, a tourism consultant, who had five clients pick up six awards collectively, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “I was delighted to attend these awards and see so many local tourism businesses picking up awards.”
“There were by far more entries from across Somerset than Bristol and Bath collectively and this can only be good news for Somerset tourism at a time where inbound tourism and the staycation are very much on the increase. We have a stunning area to promote along this stretch of the Somerset coast and events like this put it firmly on the map.”
Successful businesses in the Bristol, Bath and Somerset Awards will now be fast tracked into the South West Tourism Excellence Awards in February 2018.
