Dorset Tourism Awards

 Today has been a very proud day for all of us at Highlands End Holiday Park. Last night we attended  the Dorset Tourism Awards Ceremony at Bovington Tank Museum, where over 160 people attended and 39 awards were presented.

The awards had attracted 60 business entries in 12 different categories, each undergoing a rigorous three stage judging process including initial scoring, visits by a team of mystery shoppers and final assessment by an independent judging panel.

The Dorset Tourism Awards were launched in June this year, following extensive liaison between founder Robin Barker and local tourism leaders. Mr Barker said: “Dorset offers something special, yet for various reasons has not always punched its weight as a top destination – that’s why some 10 months ago my colleagues and I started liaising with the industry here in Dorset to assess the demand for your own Dorset Tourism Awards”

We had entered Highlands End Holiday Park into the competition back in August this year. I selected the 2 categories that I believed Highlands End would have a good chance in making to the final, ‘The Holiday Park of the Year’ and ‘Sustainable Tourism’ category.

The first to be announced of the categories that we had entered were ‘The Holiday Park of the Year’; being one of the top 3 finalists was already a great success and knowing our competitors I knew we were against 2 of the best holiday parks.  When it was announced that we were first and being awarded the Gold Award I couldn’t hide my surprise and was extremely proud.

When our second category was called out for the ‘Sustainable Tourism Award’, Highlands End Holiday Park was in the final competing against one other Hotel. Again when we were announced as the winner I was very proud to collect our Gold Award. The award confirmed to me how well our business and staff have embedded sustainability into the operation of the park.

Finally to my complete surprise Robin Barker announced a special award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Tourism’. As Robin spoke of this nominee and the 30 years of contributions that he had made, it dawned on me very quickly that he was talking about me and my work in Dorset tourism and with the trade association. It was an honour to accept the award, recognising work which I have enjoyed undertaking and it has been a privilege to make a contribution to an industry which is so important to the economy of my county.