Blenheim Palace is winner in prestigious Tourism ExSEllence Awards

The final results of the Tourism ExSEllence Awards covering the whole of the South East were announced on 28^th October at a Gala Event. Winners, Runners Up and Highly Commended organisations from the shortlisted businesses across the region have been revealed. Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire was a winner in the ‘Large Visitor Attraction of the Year’ category and runner up in the ‘Best Tourism Experience’ category.

With a total of 15 Award categories, including ‘Sports Tourism’, ‘Best Tourism Experience’ and ‘Business Tourism’, the Tourism ExSEllence Awards are the premier awards for the tourism industry in the South East and are managed by Tourism South East. They cover all kinds of tourism organisations, from small Bed & Breakfast businesses to large exclusive hotels and visitor experiences. Winners in this region will go on to compete in the national Enjoy England Awards for Excellence in 2009.

Judges look for excellence, quality and innovation, covering all aspects of the business from customer service, sales & marketing, to training & development for staff. Tourism chief Ken Robinson CBE FTS was the judge of the Large Visitor Attraction Category and described Winner Blenheim Palace as ‘a ‘Big Beast’ of the Historic House sector…..with staff very customer aware, welcoming , helpful and informative.’ He was also impressed by Blenheim Palace’s newly added visitor experience, ‘Blenheim Palace: the Untold Story’, demonstrating ‘a continuous commitment to improvement.’

John Hoy, Chief Executive of Blenheim Palace says of the Award; ‘This is fantastic news, it is a great credit to everyone within the business at Blenheim Palace, it will have a marked effect on staff morale to receive such recognition and to receive two awards for both ‘Large Visitor Attraction of the Year’ and ’Best Tourism Experience’. We all feel incredibly proud at this important achievement.’

Robert Collier, chief executive of Tourism South East, comments on this year’s successes, “It’s a delight to see such a high standard of entry – it gets better every year. We look forward to seeing more success as the winners go forward to the national Enjoy England Awards for Excellence in 2009.

More information about this year’s Tourism ExSEllence Awards can be found at www.getdiscovered2008.co.uk.

For more information about Blenheim Palace visit www.blenheimpalace.com

or call 08700 60 20 80

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Full final line-up for the Tourism ExSEllence Awards in Oxfordshire are as follows:

Winners

Blenheim Palace and ‘Blenheim Palace: The Untold Story’, Woodstock, Large Visitor Attraction

Caswell House Coach House and Granary, Brize Norton, Self Catering

Runners Up

Fallowfields Country House, Kingston Bagzuize with Southmoor, Flavour of the SE

Oxford Castle Unlocked, Small Visitor Attraction

Abbey Guest House, Abingdon, Access for All

Blenheim Palace, Best Tourism Experience

Highly Commended

Banbury TIC, Tourist Information Centre

Cogges Manor Farm, Witney, Sports Tourism