The stars of the region's tourism industry have been recognised at an annual awards ceremony and will now go on to compete against their peers from around the country.
The third West Midlands Tourism Awards took place in Wolverhampton last night and crowned winners working in a host of different sectors in places such as Birmingham, Coventry, Shrewsbury and Ironbridge.
Among those celebrated across 14 different categories at Grand Station were the team behind Coventry City of Culture, the famous Belfry hotel and golf resort and a holiday home in historic Ironbridge.
The event was hosted by Birmingham comedian and writer Shazia Mirza, with entertainment from West Midlands-based musical collective The Peaky Blinders. The awards are organised by destination promotion agency West Midlands Growth Company.
Andrew Lovett, chairman of the West Midlands Tourism and Hospitality advisory board, said: "The West Midlands Tourism Awards gave us the perfect opportunity to look back on a momentous year for our region and recognise the contribution that our fantastic sector has made in enhancing the West Midlands' global profile.
"Together, we congratulated the staff and owners at visitor attractions, accommodation and hospitality venues who have helped to highlight to a record number of people from around the world the breadth, depth and distinctiveness of our tourism offer.
"This provides an excellent platform on which to build as tourist volumes continue to recover to their pre-pandemic levels. We acknowledge there remain ongoing challenges for the sector to address but we saw at this year's awards ceremony we have the talent and ambition to overcome these and continue to make the West Midlands an exciting and popular visitor destination."
The winners and runners-up in each category automatically qualify for the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, to be held later this year, where venues will be in with a chance of being crowned national champions.
The full list of winners at the West Midlands Tourism Awards 2023 is below and click through here to see this year's shortlist:
Accessible & Inclusive Tourism Award
Gold - St Mary's Guildhall, Coventry
Silver - Burlton Cottages, Shrewsbury
Business Events Venue of the Year
Gold - The Belfry Hotel & Resort, Sutton Coldfield
Joint silver - ICC Birmingham and Coventry Building Society Arena
Camping, Glamping, Holiday Park & Small Serviced Accommodation of the Year
Gold - Achill House & Spa, Solihull
Silver - Riverside Cabins, Shrewsbury
Ethical, Responsible & Sustainable Tourism Award
Gold - Riverside Cabins, Shrewsbury
Sliver - NEC Group, Solihull
Bronze - Staying Cool at Rotunda, Birmingham
Tourism Event/Festival of the Year
Gold - Coventry City of Culture
Silver - Shrewsbury Food Festival
Bronze - Birmingham Cocktail Weekend
Experience of the Year
Gold - Go Cotswolds, Stratford-upon-Avon
Silver - The Bear Grylls Adventure, Solihull
Large Hotel of the Year
Gold - Clayton Hotel, Birmingham
Silver - The Grand Hotel, Birmingham
Bronze - Hilton Birmingham Metropole, Solihull
Large Visitor Attraction of the Year
Gold - Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham
Silver - The NEC, Solihull
Bronze - Coventry Cathedral
New Tourism Business Award
Gold - Roundhouse, Birmingham
Silver - Telegraph Hotel, Coventry
Bronze - The Reel Store, Coventry
Pub of the Year
Gold - The Howard Arms, Shipston-on-Stour
Sliver - Dhillon's Brewery, Coventry
Resilience and Innovation Award
Gold - Ironbridge View Townhouse, Shropshire
Silver - The Albany Theatre, Coventry
Bronze - Clayton Hotel, Birmingham
Self-Catering Accommodation of the Year
Gold - Eaton Manor Country Estate, Church Stretton
Silver - Burlton Cottages, Shrewsbury
Bronze - Riverside Cabins, Shrewsbury
Small Visitor Attraction of the Year
Gold - HMV Empire, Coventry
Silver - Back to Backs, Birmingham
Bronze - Escape Live, Birmingham
Taste of the West Midlands
Gold - The Barn at Berryfields, Coventry
Silver - Hooray's Gelato Kitchen, Stratford-upon-Avon
Bronze - Fazenda Rodizio Bar & Grill, Birmingham
