Following recent success at the West Midlands Tourism Awards, the Museum was shortlisted in the National awards which took place at the Central Library of Birmingham on the evening of Wed 8 June. With tough competition from Severn Valley Railway and Chester Zoo, finalists in their own right who were winners in the category from their respective regional awards, it was an honour to be awarded Gold in the category for Resilience and Innovation.
The Museum was commended for the many ways that it was able to connect with audiences during the difficult year it faced in 2021. This included being able to provide a space for the NHS to distribute vaccines to the local community, connecting with worldwide audiences through TikTok, and hosting the production of a number of high profile filming projects.
Andrew Lovett added:
“The award recognised the Museum’s ability and readiness to evolve and improve how we engage visitors with history, bounce back strongly after the impact of covid and the uncharted territory this took us into. It showed how well we continued to keep in touch with audiences, nurture their loyalty and actually heighten our presence and reputation. We avoided making redundancies, didn’t take-on debt, kept our people and visitors safe, and had faith in the excellence of what we can do. It also demonstrated that the enormous financial support we received from tax-payers was a good investment.
It was a national award, very competitive, and everyone, The Board of Trustees, staff and volunteers can be proud of bringing it home to the Museum.”
Gold, Silver and Bronze winners were selected from hundreds of tourism businesses across England including hotels, self-catering accommodation, B&Bs, glamping operators, attractions, restaurants, pubs and museums. The prestigious VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, running for more than 30 years, celebrate and champion innovation, quality and best practice across the industry recognising businesses and individuals who raise the bar of England’s tourism offer.
As well as the Museum’s individual success in the Resilience and Innovation Category we were honoured to accept, alongside Lady Carnarvon of Highclere Castle, the 2022 Award for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism – on behalf of the English Period Drama.
You can read VisitEngland’s full press release, along with all other categories and winners, here.
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