Winning Silver Experience of the Year at the West Midlands Tourism Awards 2025
On Tuesday 18th March, we had the absolute pleasure of attending the West Midlands Tourism Awards 2025, and wow—what an incredible evening it was! We are thrilled to announce that Go Cotswolds won SILVER Experience of the Year 2025!
We are still floating on cloud nine, celebrating alongside so many fantastic businesses that work tirelessly to make the West Midlands a top destination for visitors.
And what better way to mark English Tourism Week than by recognising the hard work, passion, and dedication of those who make tourism in our region truly special?
But wait—let’s rewind a bit and start from the very beginning…
What are the West Midlands Tourism Awards?
The West Midlands Tourism Awards 2025 were organised by the West Midlands Growth Company. The awards celebrate the incredible achievements and diverse talent within the region’s thriving tourism and hospitality sector.
As a VisitEngland-affiliated competition, these awards highlight the very best in the industry. They recognise those who go above and beyond to make the West Midlands a top destination for visitors from near and far.
And when we say the West Midlands, we mean a BIG region! Spanning the counties of Warwickshire (our home!), Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire and Shropshire, plus major cities like Coventry and Birmingham, it’s packed with an incredible variety of tourism and hospitality businesses—all working hard to create unforgettable experiences for the people who visit.
The Experience of the Year award process
We first entered the West Midlands Tourism Awards in 2020 and 2022 (with no awards in 2021 for, well, obvious reasons!). Then, in 2023, we struck GOLD with the top prize which was so amazing. So in 2025, after making huge improvements, changes and updates to Go Cotswolds, we decided to go for it again!
The process is no walk in the park! We had to submit a detailed application covering every aspect of our business. This was carefully scrutinised and scored by a panel of judges. Everything from our bookings process, website and social media, branding, tour offerings and more was investigated.
Then, a couple of months ago, we were absolutely thrilled to find out that we’d been shortlisted as finalists for the fourth time!
But the journey didn’t stop there. To determine the overall winner, a judge joined our Cotswolds in a Day tour, experiencing it first-hand to see if we truly deserved the title of ‘Experience of the Year’. These awards aren’t based on public votes or connections—it’s all about genuine excellence in service. And we wouldn’t have it any other way!
The Awards evening
Go Cotswolds’ Lisa and Sue, with the Shakespeare’s England and St Mary’s Guildhall teams
Finally, on Tuesday, 18th March, Lisa and Sue got glammed up in plenty of black sparkles and sequins befitting a formal black-tie event. With fingers firmly crossed for an award, we made their way to the elegant Edgbaston Stadium for a truly spectacular evening.
We took our seats at Table 24, joined by the incredible team from St Mary’s Guildhall in Coventry, who were up for awards in an impressive three categories! We also sat with our amazing cheer squad from Shakespeare’s England. With such fantastic company, the night was already set to be one to remember!
Hosted by presenter Amber Sandhu, the awards kicked off with opening speeches from Neil Rami (West Midlands Growth Company) and West Midlands Combined Authority Deputy Mayor Sharon Thompson.
Our category, ‘Experience of the Year’, was the second award to be announced, so we didn’t have too long to wait! First, introductory videos of each shortlisted business were shown on big screens.
And then the nerve-wracking wait for the golden envelope to be opened…
Silver Experience of the Year for Go Cotswolds!
Well, we didn’t win the top prize. That honour went to The National SEA Life Centre in Birmingham. The judges felt their ‘VIP Otter Experience’ was the West Midlands’ top Experience of the Year.
But we came a close second with a Silver Experience of the Year 2025 award!
There’s no shame in coming second, especially since Go Cotswolds was by far the smallest company selected as a finalist for any of the awards. With our little family-run team of just 12 people, we feel monumentally proud for coming anywhere near companies like The National SEA Life Centre (part of the huge Merlin Entertainments Group and a global franchise)!
What happens after the West Midlands Tourism Awards?
Being affiliated with VisitEngland, the West Midlands Tourism Awards serves as a regional competition for the national ‘Awards for Excellence‘. So, very excitingly, as a Silver Experience of the Year 2025 winner, Go Cotswolds will now be put forward for the national awards! To put some context on this, VisitEngland is the highest authority on tourism in England. So, for English tourism businesses, winning the West Midlands Tourism Awards is like an actor or film director being nominated for an Oscar!
To get this far is an incredible achievement for a company as small as us, and we’re so unbelievably proud!
THANK YOU!
Thank you SO much to everyone who has contributed to our Go Cotswolds journey!
Our fantastic guides and admin team, our friends and family, the professionals who have helped us with graphic design, marketing, web development and transport management, Shakespeare’s England, Experience Oxfordshire and Cotswolds Tourism, Rick Steves, our online supporters and other small businesses who help to promote us – you know who you are – and, above all, our wonderful past, present and future customers who put their faith in this little family business to make a small part of your UK vacation amazing!
Ready to book a tour to find out why Go Cotswolds won a silver award for Experience of the Year? Click here!
Join us on our popular Cotswolds in a Day or Secret Cotswolds tours, enjoy Cotswolds Walks & Villages or experience our fabulous new Bath and Southern Cotswolds tour.
Prefer a private tour or need group transport? Then check out our private tours and minibus hire options.
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