Three new categories have been added to the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence for 2017.
Nominations are now open for the awards, now in their 28th year.
As well as the usual 16 categories, this year will see the addition of ‘Family Friendly Business of the Year’, ‘GREAT China Welcome of the Year’ and ‘Afternoon Tea of the Year’.
VisitEngland director Patricia Yates said: "The three new categories reflect the importance of delivering the right products to the right customers at the right time, whether that means appealing to visitors from China, catering to young families or delivering an excellent, quintessentially English afternoon tea."
VisitEngland’s 2015 Great Britain Tourism Survey found that families with children accounted for almost 40% of all domestic holidays in England last year.
The ‘GREAT China Welcome of the Year’ award is named after VisitBritain’s GREAT China Welcome programme which aims to make Britain the ‘destination of choice’ for the rapidly-growing Chinese market.
Visits from China were up almost 50% to 270,000 in 2015, and spend was up 18% to £586 million, moving China into the UK’s top 10 most valuable inbound markets for the first time.
Applications for the 2017 Awards will be accepted until mid-October, although some categories close earlier.
Shortlisted businesses will be visited by judges between October to February and finalists will be announced in March, with the awards ceremony set to take place in April.
