Shakespeare Country shortlisted in tourism Oscars

Shakespeare Country has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Heart of England Excellence in Tourism Awards under the ‘Destination Tourism Website of the Year’ category.

All other nominations for Warwickshire are members of Shakespeare Country with the Stratford Menzies Hotel being nominated under ‘Large Hotel/Townhouse of the Year’, Guiding You for the ‘Outstanding Customer Care’ Award, Kenilworth Castle for ‘Large Visitor Attraction’ and Woodside for the ‘Heart of England Business Tourism’ Award. The Heritage Motor Centre has been nominated for two categories, ‘Large Visitor Attraction’ and ‘Access for All Award’.

The Regional Excellence in Tourism Awards recognises and rewards the very best in regional tourism, an industry that contributes £6 billion a year to the West Midlands economy. Gold, silver and commended winners will be revealed at a gala dinner and ceremony at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham on Tuesday 11 November. The regional awards are supported by the regional development agency Advantage West Midlands through Tourism West Midlands - the strategic tourism board. Each gold winner will automatically go through to the national awards, the highest accolade in English tourism, coordinated by Enjoy England, the national tourism agency.

Phil Hackett, Chief Executive for Shakespeare Country stated, “We are delighted that the Shakespeare Country website has been nominated as a finalist. We re-launched our website in January with a complete new look with improved navigation and a much simplified booking process. We have seen the number of unique visitors rise by 137% year on year which is testament to the effort, hard work and investment that has gone into it. It’s a great achievement for our website to be recognised for its value and importance”.

The Shakespeare Country website is one of the most popular destination websites in the country. Visitors can search for late availability with the ability to search for nearby attractions and venues for each accommodation provider. There are also a number of podcasts which the visitors can download prior to visiting the area including the “Talking the Walk” podcasts which picked up a silver award at the 2007 Excellence in Tourism Awards. Attractions are fully searchable with the ability to search for nearby accommodation and other attractions as well as an online calendar of up and coming events that is regularly updated.

For theatre and attraction tickets, accommodation, brochures, special offers and more information visit Shakespeare-country.co.uk.

Contact the Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa Tourist Information Centres for discounted tickets for Warwick Castle, Alton Towers, Madame Tussauds and Blenheim Palace.