Cumbria Tourism Awards – Our 2023 winners
The winners of the Cumbria Tourism Awards 2023 were announced at a special award ceremony at the Castle Green Hotel in Kendal, as the industry came together to honour and recognise our high-achieving tourism businesses.
The awards celebrate the very best of Cumbria’s vibrant tourism economy and the winners have shown that they are offering fantastic quality, service and care to our visitors – helping make our county an incredible place for us all to live, work, study and visit.
The majority of winners go forward to represent Cumbria at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence in 2024. (Wedding Venue of the Year and the Makers and Producers Award are run at a Cumbria level only).
The Cumbria Tourism Awards 2023 winners:
Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award (Sponsored by Lake District National Park)
Ethical, Responsible & Sustainable Tourism Award (Sponsored by Westmorland & Furness Council)
Large Hotel of the Year (Sponsored by Christie & Co)
Small Hotel of the Year (Sponsored by Colliers)
Self-Catering Accommodation of the Year (Sponsored by The Cumberland)
Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year (Sponsored by Burnetts)
Small Visitor Attraction of the Year (Sponsored by Dodd & Co)
Large Visitor Attraction of the Year (Sponsored by H&H Reeds)
Experience of the Year (Sponsored by Cumberland Council)
The Sheila Hensman Unsung Hero Award
Ben McGregor, Lake District Estates
Wedding Venue of the Year
Taste of Cumbria Award (Sponsored by Lamont Pridmore)
Makers and Producers Award (Sponsored by Aqua Pura)
New Tourism Business Award (Sponsored by Thomson Hayton Winkley)
Pub of the Year (Sponsored by Napthens)
Highly Commended Small Visitor Attraction of the Year
Highly Commended Taste of Cumbria Award
The Bernard Gooch Award for Tourism Personality of the Year 2023
To round off the night, there was a special surprise presentation of the Bernard Gooch Award for ‘Cumbria’s Tourism Personality of the Year’. This is the highest award collectively given by the industry for lifelong services to tourism; this year, it was awarded jointly to Peter and Iona Frost-Pennington of Muncaster Castle and Gardens.
The Frost-Penningtons have an immense passion for Cumbria, particularly the Western Lake District and Coast, and have been responsible for delivering many tourism projects domestically and internationally. As a couple they oversee one of the UK’s key heritage sites and are well-known as leading lights in sustainability. Iona was previously the High Sheriff of Cumbria, while Peter is a high-profile representative for the county on many tourism steering groups and boards.
The Cumbria Tourism Awards are organised on a ‘not for profit’ basis and the designated charity for 2023 was mental health charity Growing Well.
Cumbria Tourism is grateful to its sponsors for making the competition possible. They include headline sponsor United Utilities, along with all of the individual category sponsors:
Aqua Pura, Burnetts, Christie & Co, Colliers, Cumberland Council, Dodd & Co, H&H Reeds, Lake District National Park, Lamont Pridmore, Napthens, The Cumberland, Thomson Hayton Winkley and Westmorland & Furness Council.
The event was also supported by Lawson Design, EWGA Wines, Booths, Heineken, Mr & Mrs Jones Events and Jenny Woolgar Photography.
Get In Touch
Would you like to sponsor the 2024 Awards? Contact the Cumbria Tourism Awards team on: 01539 822222 / awards@cumbriatourism.org