Double Gold for Slimbridge in South West Tourism Awards
We're extremely proud to announce we have won two Gold awards in the 2023/24 South West Tourism Awards.
We're extremely proud to announce we have won two Gold awards in the 2023/24 South West Tourism Awards!
Outstanding tourism businesses from across South West England celebrated in style on Thursday 14 March in the Great Hall of the University of Exeter.
The annual event was the grand finale of 12 months of entry, judging and feedback and we were delighted to come back to the wetlands with Gold awards for both Accessible & Inclusive Tourism and Large Visitor Attraction.
Many of the winners have also been nominated to represent the region in the National VisitEngland Awards, for which we won Bronze for Accessibility in 2023.
Judges explained;
WWT Slimbridge is certainly an expert in the accessibility field and many other visitor attractions could learn from the initiatives that WWT Slimbridge have implemented. The visitor attraction is taking steps in advancing its facilities to improve the wellness of its visitors with some significant site redevelopments. Access is central to every decision that is made across this site, this is evident with the Changing Place Toilet and the Living Wetland Theatre - both designed with access at the core.
All forms of hospitality business were amongst the winners, with cafes, pubs, karting centres schools and distilleries all celebrating alongside attractions, camping and glamping sites, holiday parks, B&Bs, cottages and hotels.
These awards recognise the high standard that we provide as an accessible and inclusive tourist attraction, and we are incredibly proud to be flying the flag for the region!
We have worked particularly hard on improving our Accessibility over the last few years, this has included opening a Changing Places facility on site, producing an Accessibility Guide, Social Story, Accessibility map and filming and creating an Accessibility video to help visitors plan ahead.
We would like to wish a big congratulations to all our fellow finalists. And a huge thank you to our dedicated staff and volunteers for all of their continuous hard-work in making WWT Slimbridge a welcoming place for all.
