Categories

Description: This award recognises an outstanding large visitor attraction with over 75,000 visitors annually. This attraction consistently delivers exceptional visitor experiences while demonstrating excellence in customer service, innovation, accessibility and sustainability.

Entry Criteria:

• Provide an overview of your attraction, including what makes it unique, your visitor numbers, and the audiences you serve. 
• Tell us about any new developments, innovations, events, exhibitions, or improvements that have enhanced your attraction and benefited visitors.
• Describe how you ensure visitors receive a high-quality experience. Include examples of customer service, facilities, accessibility, and how you respond to visitor feedback. 

Description: 

Recognising individuals behind the scenes who make a significant impact on Yorkshire’s tourism industry. Whether through acts of kindness, unwavering professionalism or an exceptional customer-first mindset, this person inspires others and sets the standard for excellence. 

Entry Criteria:

• Provide details of the nominee’s contributions and impact to the team, customers or industry.
• Showcase testimonials from colleagues and customers.
• Highlight commitment, dedication, and service excellence.

Description: This award celebrates Yorkshire’s best-kept-secrets. Those exceptional businesses, attractions, experiences and gardens that consistently delight visitors and make a positive contribution to their local community.

Entry Criteria:

• Explain how you consistently provide exceptional customer service or memorable experiences?
• Share reviews, testimonials, repeat visitor numbers, or other evidence that demonstrates customer satisfaction.
• Showcase how you support or contribute to your local community. 

Description: This award recognises an outstanding wellbeing or spa business that delivers exceptional treatments, outstanding customer care, and a genuine commitment to improving clients' health and wellbeing.

Entry Criteria:

• Showcase your commitment to delivering exceptional customer service and creating a welcoming, relaxing environment.
• Provide details of your high standards of professionalism, this could include therapist expertise, and treatment quality.
• Provide evidence of positive client outcomes through testimonials, feedback or other measurable results.

Description: A publicly voted award celebrating the best-loved tourism experience in Yorkshire. The shortlisted finalists will be put to the public vote on 26th October for the "Best Yorkshire Experience" winner.

Voting will close Monday 16 November.

Entry Criteria:

• Open to any business, attraction, or experience that offers an exceptional visitor experience.
• Encouraged to engage their audience to secure votes.
• Winner decided based on public vote.
• Winner will be announced at the awards ceremony in Leeds on 30th November.

Description: This award recognises a restaurant that delivers an exceptional fine dining experience through outstanding cuisine, impeccable service, elegant surroundings, and a commitment to excellence. 

Entry Criteria:

• Explain how you create a memorable guest experience from arrival through to departure. Include details about ambience, service, attention to detail, and hospitality.
• Showcase any awards and customer testimonials while providing details of innovation, sustainability, tasting experiences, wine programme, chef's vision, or other distinctive features.
• Describe your menu, culinary approach, ingredient sourcing, creativity, and how you ensure consistency and quality across every service.

Description: This award recognises outstanding visitor attractions welcoming fewer than 75,000 visitors annually. It celebrates attractions that deliver exceptional visitor experiences, demonstrate excellence in customer service, contribute to their local destination, and make a significant impact despite their smaller scale.

Entries are welcomed from heritage sites, museums, gardens, visitor centres, wildlife attractions, cultural venues.

Entry Criteria:

• Explain how you ensure visitors have a memorable, high-quality experience from arrival to departure, providing visitor statistics and testimonials.
• Explain how you ensure consistently high standards of customer care.
• Detail new initiatives, exhibits, events or improvements you have introduced.

Description: This award recognises an outstanding large hotel with over 50 rooms, that consistently delivers exceptional guest experiences while demonstrating excellence across all areas of its operation.

Entry Criteria:

• Showcase how you consistently exceed guest expectations and describe where your team went above and beyond for a guest. 
• Tell us about new ideas, technologies, innovation, services, refurbishments or operational improvements that have made a measurable difference to your guests, staff or business.
• Describe what sustainability initiative has had the biggest impact on your business and how you reduce your environmental impact.

Description: This award recognises excellence in delivering memorable cultural experiences that engage communities, celebrate diversity, inspire participation and leave a lasting positive impact.

Eligible events may range from festivals, exhibitions to community celebrations, performances and multicultural programmes of any scale.

Entry Criteria:

• Explain how it celebrated, promoted or preserved culture, heritage, creativity, diversity or community identity.
• Provide evidence of it’s success, such as audience attendance, participant feedback, media coverage or other measurable outcomes.
• Provide examples of collaboration with artists, cultural organisations, community groups, volunteers or other partners and explain how the event was inclusive and accessible.

Description: This award recognises an outstanding bed & breakfast or guest house that consistently delivers exceptional hospitality, comfort and memorable guest experiences. It celebrates independent accommodation providers that demonstrate excellence in customer service, high standards of quality, a strong sense of place, and a commitment to exceeding guest expectations.

Entry Criteria:

• Highlight unique features, quality of accommodation, and facilities.
• Demonstrate excellence in food, facilities, and guest experience.
• Showcase how you deliver consistently excellent customer service and hospitality.

Description: This award recognises an individual or team that consistently delivers exceptional customer service, demonstrating professionalism, empathy, responsiveness, and a genuine commitment to exceeding customer expectations.

Entry Criteria:

• Describe how you consistently deliver exceptional customer service through  customer testimonials and recognition.
• Provide examples of a time you went above and beyond for a customer. What was the situation, what actions did you take, and what was the outcome? 
• Detail how you have contributed to improving customer service within your team or organisation? This could include introducing new ideas, improving processes, mentoring colleagues, or sharing best practice.

Description: This award recognises an exceptional pub that consistently delivers outstanding hospitality, creates a welcoming atmosphere, and plays a valued role within its local community.

Whether it's a traditional village pub, a contemporary gastropub, or a thriving community local, this award celebrates venues that set the benchmark for quality and hospitality.

Entry Criteria:

• Tell us about your menus, drinks selection, quality standards, local sourcing, seasonal offerings, or any unique features that differentiate your pub from others. 
• Provide examples of community events, fundraising, partnerships with local organisations, support for local suppliers, or other initiatives that demonstrate your positive local impact. 
• Describe how your team provides excellent service and creates a welcoming atmosphere. Include examples of customer feedback, repeat business, staff training, or initiatives that have enhanced the customer experience. 

Description: This award celebrates organisations that minimise their environmental impact, support local communities and cultures, and create positive economic outcomes while delivering exceptional visitor experiences.

This category is open to tourism businesses, destinations, attractions, accommodation providers, tour operators, and experiences that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to sustainable tourism. 

Entry Criteria:

• Highlight your organisation's approach to sustainable tourism. What are your sustainability goals, and how are they embedded into your business? 
• Describe the initiatives you have implemented to reduce your environmental impact. What measurable results have these achieved? 
• Provide customer feedback and sustainability certifications to demonstrate the success of your sustainability initiatives.

Description: This award recognises an outstanding holiday rental that consistently delivers exceptional guest experience while demonstrating excellent quality, service and professionalism.

Eligible properties may include (but are not limited to): cottages, cabins, camping/glamping, holiday parks and caravan parks.

Entry Criteria:

• Explain how you provide an outstanding experience for your guests from booking through to departure.
• Describe the standards you maintain, including cleanliness, maintenance and facilities of the property/site.
• Provider evidence of positive guest experiences through reviews, repeat bookings or other feedback that demonstrates consistently high standards.

Description: This award recognises an outstanding venue that has demonstrated excellence in hosting events, delivering exceptional customer service experiences and supporting organisers to create memorable occasions.

Eligible venues may include (but are not limited to): Hotels, conference centres, parks, historic buildings and heritage venues, museums, galleries, arena’s and theatres.

Entry Criteria:

• Detail your positive business performance, client satisfaction, repeat business and contribution to the events industry or local community.
• Demonstrate your high-quality facilities, accessibility, and flexibility to accommodate a range of event types.
• Provide details of your outstanding customer service and support for event organisers and attendees.

Description: This award recognises cafes that consistently deliver an outstanding customer experience through exceptional food and drink, excellent customer service and strong commitment to their community.

This category is open to independent cafes, artisan coffee shops, bakery cafes, brunch cafes and cafes found in visitor attractions, garden centers and hotels.

Entry Criteria:

• Showcase examples of the high standards in the quality, presentation and consistency of food and beverages, with a menu that reflects creativity, freshness and value.
• Demonstrate how you have introduced new ideas, products, services or experiences that enhance the customer journey and differentiate the business.
• Provide examples of the outstanding customer service, welcoming atmosphere and memorable experience that encourages customers to return.

Description: This award recognises an outstanding boutique hotel with up to 50 bedrooms that delivers an exceptional guest experience through distinctive character, outstanding hospitality, and consistently high standards. 

Entry Criteria:

• Highlight distinctive features, personality, service quality, and ambiance that sets your hotel apart from others.
• Describe how you consistently deliver outstanding hospitality, exceed guest expectations and ensure every stay is special. Please include examples and any evidence of guest satisfaction where possible.
• Detail the successes your hotel has experienced over the last 12 months. These could include business growth, improvements, investments, new initiatives, overcoming challenges or recognition received.

Description: This award celebrates tourism businesses, destinations, attractions, accommodation providers, tour operators, and visitor experiences that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to accessibility and inclusion. It recognises organisations that remove barriers, embrace inclusive design, and create welcoming experiences for people of all ages, abilities, backgrounds, and needs. 

Entry Criteria:

• Demonstrate how you have improved accessibility across your visitor experience.
• Provide details of your accessible facilities and adaptations, services and information.
• Showcase positive outcomes and customer service supported by visitor feedback or measurable impact.