Cream of county’s tourism industry recognised at awards

The best businesses operating in Derbyshire’s tourism industry have been recognised at awards organised by Visit Peak District & Derbyshire.

The winners of the 2023 Peak District & Derbyshire Tourism Awards were recently crowned at an awards ceremony, which took place at the Casa Hotel, in Chesterfield.

In front of an audience of around 180 people, some of the area’s finest visitor attractions, experiences, pubs, restaurants and accommodation providers were recognised at the awards, which are designed to showcase excellence and outstanding achievement across the area’s tourism and hospitality sector.

Organised for the third year by Visit Peak District & Derbyshire, with support from the European Regional Development Fund, this year’s awards celebrated the success and resilience of tourism businesses while highlighting the sector’s valuable contribution to the local economy.

The finalists progressed through shortlisting, mystery shopping and a rigorous judging process by an independent panel of experts to arrive at last night’s ceremony.

The event, which took place ahead of English Tourism Week this week, saw the Gold, Silver and Bronze award winners revealed.

The Gold winners in each of the 13 core categories will now progress onto the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2023, which represent the highest accolades in English tourism.

Jo Dilley, managing director of Visit Peak District & Derbyshire, said: “The Peak District & Derbyshire Tourism Awards are a celebration of all that’s great about the tourism industry locally, and recognise its vital importance to the economy as well as the hard work, talent and dedication of those who work in this important sector.

“The quality and diversity of our tourism offer is immense and, in light of the many difficulties faced by the industry over the past three years, we should be tremendously proud of not only our award-winners, but of all our finalists.

“They have shown adaptability, innovation, and commitment to delivering world-class experiences to visitors day in, day out and help make the Peak District and Derbyshire such a fantastic place to live, work and visit.”

The full list of finalists and winners can be found here.