Category Awards & Criteria
Quality and Customer Care
Excellence in service, hospitality, quality and customer care are what the judges are looking for - businesses that are unique, innovative and offer visitors a truly memorable experience.
This award aims to promote positive role models for the tourism industry in Wales. Entries will need to be accredited by Visit Wales to a four-star minimum. Attractions must be VAQAS accredited.
The sub categories are as follows:
- Self Catering
- Caravan Park
- Attraction
The Real Alternative Award
This category is looking for tourism businesses that can demonstrate that they offer visitors a ‘real alternative’ to the normal break or holiday.
The winner of this category will cater for those seeking adventure or those in search of new experiences and must provide an experience which is genuine and gives visitors a chance to try something different and which adopts an imaginative way to doing business - showing what makes Wales really different – its environment, magical landscape, history and culture.
The Extra Mile Award
This award will recognise those people who work behind the scenes in the tourism industry and who go the extra mile to accommodate guests or bend over backwards to ensure visitors enjoy their stay. They really make a difference to the business.
We are looking for people who would usually shy away from such accolades – and we’re looking to you to nominate them for this award. It does not matter what their job is – if they do their utmost to make someone’s visit or stay memorable, we want to hear about them.
Team Building
Here in Wales, we offer a wide range of different team building events which take people away from the daily office grind. We offer something unique to people who are ready for more than just simply thinking outside that box.
We’re looking for companies, operators, attractions, agencies or consortia who have a programme or package aimed at the corporate, association or incentive market for team building activities. The winner will need to have a business/marketing plan for attracting this lucrative market and plans for future development. You will also need to present three testimonials from participating companies, where their visits must have taken place since June 2005.
Best Event in Wales
Two sub categories for this award:
- Major Event
Seeking to reward those events offering visitors a top-quality experience and which have the potential to attract new visitors from outside the local area and raise Wales’ profile as an events host extraordinaire.
Through successful marketing and promotion, visitor numbers and spend will have grown in a sustainable manner and the attraction/event will show commitment to developments and improvements in line with the changing needs of the visitor. Excellence in service, customer care and hospitality are key, as well as commitment to staff training and promotion of Wales’ sense of place. Evidence of future planning and financial sustainability of the event will need to be demonstrated
- Community Event
This award seeks to reward an event that has had a positive economic impact on the local community –such as helping to foster community regeneration and a greater sense of pride. The project will have succeeded in drawing attention to the area and will have started to attract visitors from away, bringing economic benefits to local businesses.
The project will draw upon the skills and expertise of local residents and small businesses to create a sustainable, vibrant and unique visitor experience. The people involved will have made the event what it is today, those attending will get a deeper insight into the community and it will help them connect with what goes on locally as well as give them a sense of belonging.
Golf as it should be
In Wales you can play golf as it should be played, you can play your own game, at your own unhurried pace and savour the fantastic scenery. This is ‘Golf as it should be’.
Whether you’re a golf club, resort, tour operator or accommodation provider offering golf packages, this award will reward an organisation raising the profile of Wales as a golf destination, increasing the value and volume of golf tourism, and maximising the opportunities in relation to the Ryder Cup in 2010.
Tourism Entrepreneur
Wales is the home to and inspiration for many entrepreneurs. People working in Wales think differently, think big and they succeed.
This award will recognise the successful contributions of entrepreneurs in the tourism industry in Wales, and how they have created or invigorated a business, making significant impact on Welsh tourism. They will demonstrate that original thinking and challenging convention has resulted in ways of developing and improving the business. They will show commitment, enthusiasm, entrepreneurial flair and innovative approach to their role, as well as being able to demonstrate the results of successful changes and improvements they have introduced.
Best Marketing Campaign
This award seeks to recognise tourism businesses of all sizes that can demonstrate a successful and creative marketing campaign that has contributed to bringing visitors to Wales.
This is not simply about large budget, glossy advertising; we are looking for an original and innovative marketing campaign which has a thoroughly researched plan and strategy, clear objectives, is well researched and can demonstrate success through evaluation, and the impact the campaign made to company’s bottom line.
Gold Star Accommodation
This category seeks to award the best of the best accommodation in Wales. The category is not open for applications as the shortlist will consist of hotels and other guest accommodation which have received the new Visit Wales Gold Star standard. Winners of the Gold Award will be advised (under embargo) in June 2007. A shortlist will be drawn up from this and winners of the national award will be announced at the awards ceremony. Estimated up to 30 winners of the Gold award (roughly 2% of graded stock).
This category will have two sub categories:
The Gold Star Accommodation award is linked to the Visit Wales grading scheme and assessment, therefore businesses will not be able to enter themselves in this category. The Award puts strong emphasis on atmosphere, comfort, food quality, service delivery and customer care. Gold award businesses must demonstrate a commitment to staff development and learning.
Wales Chef Skills 2007
This award celebrates those chefs in Wales who have excelled at developing their skills, knowledge and ability through workplace training.
In this competitive market chef skills are becoming increasingly vital to business success and it’s hoped that this award will help inspire future advancement in the quality of catering in Wales.
The shortlisted candidates for this award will have attained the highest levels of competence and achievement. It’s hoped that increasingly more chefs and employers will come to value the importance of skills development.
The category is not open for applications - candidates will have been nominated by their employers and others, and assessed against rigorous set standards which recognise their commitment to, and attainment of skills improvement.