Sponsors

South West Tourism Alliance

The South West Tourism Alliance represents over 100 of the top industry groups in the region, from leading industry names, to beacon tourism businesses, as well as including supporting companies and Public sector organisations within the South West Visitor Economy. A true mix of the public and private sector. 

We have protected important business to business services for the industry and continuously lobby for vital improvements to the region in order for all businesses to prosper and grow. Tourism creates more jobs more quickly than another business sector, and nowhere is this more vital than in the South West where tourism is the lead industry. 

Follow us on Twitter @SWTourAlliance and sign up for our newsletter to be kept informed and advised of up coming events.

South West Water Business

The South West has a proud record of being at the forefront of tourism’s need to have a positive impact on the beautiful environment we promote and enjoy. Part of the challenge in ensuring that our region stays special is to manage our precious resources sensitively and effectively.

South West Water Business is dedicated to business customers in the South West Water region. We pride ourselves on exemplary customer services – 97% of our customers are happy with their interaction with us.

From retailers to farmers, hoteliers to holiday park owners, we're here for all South West businesses. Our aim is to help you save water and money and to operate more efficiently without any fuss or disruption; after all, you've got your own business to run. Since 2011 we’ve helped business customers save over £4m from their water bills. We can help you too.

If you’d like support or help or require a free water audit to ensure you’re not wasting water and paying to much for your bill, please contact Andrew.Phillipe@pennonwaterservices.co.uk.

Clockwork Marketing

Specialists in the tourism industry, Clockwork Marketing works with independent hotels, restaurants and tourism businesses. They have an impressive portfolio of national and international clients; each is unique, but they all have one thing in common: they want to grow. With 25 years’ experience, the team understand the industry intricately, and apply a common sense approach to marketing, strategy and technology.

Clockwork help hospitality businesses save costs and achieve growth by ensuring that their marketing is effective and their strategy is geared for success. Many of the businesses they work with get in touch because they’ve found themselves:

Playing ‘Marketing Roulette’: Taking chances, unsure what works and to what extent; Suffering ‘Marketing Paralysis’: Not doing any meaningful marketing because they don’t know where to start; or Lacking something: They want to be market leaders and need a strategy to stand out. Over the years, Clockwork Marketing has grown considerably; today, they are a talented team of 22 marketers, strategists, designers and developers. Their services include responsive website design, SEO, social media management, email marketing, marketing management, branding, design services, OTA strategy, direct mail, copywriting, content management, online gift voucher software and business transformation consultancy – all under one roof!

The Samphire Club

A private members club launched in April 2016 to promote effective networking throughout the South West and London.  Made up of invited members and corporate partners from the private sector, The Samphire Club will be small enough to be exclusive but with the connections and know-how to bring the South West and London closer together.

Our members enjoy great company, great times and make valuable business connections while relishing the finest food and drink the South West has to offer.

Member benefits include:

A club magazine and membership card with privileges
4 free events a year
Business networking events

The satisfaction of helping us raise funds for our nominated charities and attending the annual charity dinner.
The Samphire Club: good for members, good for business and good for London and the South West.

SBPR

Providing cost effective PR and marketing services for small, medium and large businesses throughout Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly, Devon and beyond, sbpr combine traditional and digital public relations and marketing with copywriting and social media management - to stay at the forefront of a fast changing industry. Whether you want help raising your profile, driving traffic to your website, undertaking a short term campaign or managing an event, sbpr have the expertise to get results.

Beco Energy

Beco are a small company, full of energy and driven by a big commitment to provide high quality renewable and energy efficiency energy services including Solar PV, Wind, LED Lighting and Voltage Optimisation.

We are delighted to be offering, through our partnership with SW Tourism Awards, complementary energy audits.  Allow us to analyse your energy needs and we will provide you with fully costed report detailing savings, ROI and carbon reduction.  

We will also check your eligibility to join the fast-growing number of new customers who are enjoying free installation of Voltage Optimisation equipment.

All businesses benefit from cutting costs.  Challenge Beco to reduce your energy spend and CO2.    Now there’s something every MD can smile about!

@becouk

Admedia

As leaders in Leisure & Tourism advertising, Admedia have over 20 years’ experience delivering impactful national, regional and local campaigns across the UK’s Motorway Services network, reaching up to 8.5 million motorists every week.

Providing key audiences including families, coach tours and UK holiday makers, Admedia work with a range of South West leisure and tourism brands across sectors including attractions, theme parks, trusts, sports clubs and motorhome parks.

Located at high footfall tourism areas, including the gateway to the South West, our Motorway Services offer traditional and digital multi touch-point advertising solutions, including Admedia Nexus - the UKs largest external network of full-motion large- format digital screens.

Granny Gothards

Granny Gothards have been making traditional handmade ice creams in the South West since 2012 and still make them today in the same way they always have.

Using milk collected daily from the Gothard herd of Friesians and adding fresh South West double cream, egg yolk and only the highest quality ingredients for flavours, it's no wonder the ices have won a vast number of TOTW and GTA awards, the latest being Champion Ice Cream in the South West.

Supplying top hotels and restaurants in the UK, Middle East and recently China, Granny Gothards are proud of their 135 flavours and have shown it's possible to upscale an artisan product without compromising on why people love you after their very first spoonful

Hospitality Growth

With scores of restaurants, hotels, bars and pubs closing weekly, it is imperative to call upon a highly talented team of industry experts to advise, guide and support you through whatever difficulties you may be experiencing.

Hospitality Growth is a team with a blended range of experiences in turnaround across the hospitality sector as well as helping businesses through their growing pains. We add practical business support to the hospitality sector, be it:

• Finding finance
• Interim management
• Sourcing staff
• Providing stock through our powerful purchasing group
• Assisting with landlord negotiations, rent reviews
• Finding the right premises to rent or buy for your new business

Buckleigh Linen Services

With over 120 years serving the region, Buckleigh is the largest independent laundry servicing the South West. Recognised as one of the most technologically advanced laundries in Europe, it is also very supportive of the environment: 85% of the water used in processing comes from Buckleigh's wells and the plant is surrounded by its own woodland.

Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway (GWR) provides high speed, commuter, regional and branch line train services. We help over 100 million passengers reach their destinations every year - across South Wales, the Westcountry, the Cotswolds, and large parts of Southern England. 

We’re currently seeing the biggest investment in the network since Brunel so we can offer more trains, more seats, and shorter, more frequent journeys and continue the network’s heritage of helping connect more businesses to new and prosperous markets. Through a series of initiatives we aim to be a good neighbour to the communities we serve and are committed to making a positive social impact in those regions. Learn how we're Building a Greater West at GWR.com. GWR is a FirstGroup company.

Welcome to Excellence

Welcome to Excellence is the the leading provider of customer service skills training in the UK.

Why do you need customer service training? In today’s competitive markets, customer service determines the winners and losers.

As the leading deliverer of customer service training in the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors, Welcome to Excellence is also now seen as the way forward by retail businesses, transport providers, local authorities, universities and many other organisations for which quality customer service is critical.  Options include the highly rated 'Welcome Host Gold', 'Welcome All' and 'Exceeding Visitor Expectations' courses, available in-house or through open courses, plus a range of more sector-specific courses.

If entering the Awards, always refer to these and other courses booked by your staff.

Visit Bristol

Destination Bristol is the destination management partnership for Bristol & South Gloucestershire, a joint venture between Bristol City Council and Business West. The organisation works with over 600 major businesses and strategic partners with the aim of increasing business competitiveness within the city, supporting employment and growth within the visitor economy, and raising the profile of the Bristol city region as a world-class place.

Booking.com

Booking.com is an informative, user-friendly website that guarantees the best available prices. Our goal is to provide business and leisure travellers with the most accessible and cost-effective way of discovering and booking the broadest selection of accommodation, in every corner of the world.

Our teams work from local support offices with our property partners to support transparency, availability, and best pricing for all our customers. Our multilingual Customer Service team provides 24/7 dedicated assistance and advocacy to make sure our customers’ stays meet or exceed their expectations.

Our mission is to empower people to experience the world. Helping us do this is a diverse community of over 17,000 employees across 198 global offices, all connected by a love of travel and a passion for creating the perfect customer experience.

Tourist Network

Tourist Network are specialists in tourism video production, having produced over 1,200 videos for the industry. Our clients big and small include theme parks, heritage attractions, museums, hospitality providers, zoos, tourist events, and many more. We’re also market leaders in Digital Signage installations in tourist information settings, and broadcast a number of destination-wide Tourist Information TV Channels that are piped exclusively into hotel bedrooms.

Whether you’re from an attraction, destination or accommodation provider, with a requirement for quality video, for your own digital signage network or in-hotel TV channel, or wish to promote your business directly to a targeted tourist audience through our far reaching digital networks, then please contact the team at Tourist Network today.

Plymouth Gin

A true spirit of discovery, Plymouth gin is a connoisseur’s gin boasting complex flavours and smooth texture underpinned by a rich and vibrant history. Hand-crafted and batch-made using the same recipe since 1793, the artisanal gin has continually been favoured amongst the world’s best bartenders as well as the British Royal Navy. With a history dating back to the early 15th Century, encompassing the old Black Friar monks, the renowned Mayflower voyage to the New World and the iconic birth of the cocktail era, Plymouth gin is a historic spirit waiting to be discovered.

Quality in Tourism

Quality in Tourism has been relaunched as an independent accreditation service, offering grading, mystery shopping and specialist tourism and hospitality expertise.

Our experienced team have worked in various tourism and hospitality roles, giving them a true empathy and understanding of the issues within the industry. From mystery customer visits and website reviews to RevPar and marketing analysis, we work with our members to offer practical help and assistance, with the aim of driving additional sales and increasing profit.

Our assessor team can star rate your property without the prescriptive standards of other schemes, recognising your quality and its appeal to customers, without insisting on outdated physical measures irrelevant to your customers. Our entry level scheme gives assurances to your customers, ir is appropriately named Safe Clean & Legal TM. We offer special accolades to help you promote your properties to customers looking for your particular offerings.

Our experience, expertise and insight into the industry allows us to respond to current trends and assist members to deliver what the customer actually wants.

NFU Mutual

Our network of specialist local Agents work extensively with the hospitality and retail industries - everything from local coffee shops to a chain of restaurants or food stores and urban chic hotels.

We understand that your business could be impacted by a number of issues - cyber attacks, damage to your property, the loss of a major supplier or customer, the loss of a key person through illness, or an outbreak of food poisoning. But you’re not alone. Your NFU Mutual Agent can help you plan for the unexpected and get you back on your feet should things go wrong.

The right insurance starts with the right conversation. Contact our local Agent today by visiting nfumutual/branches

Soundview

Soundview creates marketing videos and Virtual Reality experiences for South West destination and tourism businesses using the latest cutting edge video, immersive, VR/360 and drone technology. We deliver award-winning promotional films that reach millions of global viewers. Whether for websites, television advertising campaigns, social media, events or immersive tours, we connect you with your customers.

By working closely with our clients, we ensure each film tells a unique story that reflects the quality of what`s on offer. We combine excellent storytelling, the latest innovations and the highest production values, to turn viewers into visitors.

"It was your video that made Tree Top Escapes a success in the first year...100% occupancy." Tree Top Escape, Millbrook Estate, North Devon.

"Thank you for a great job that has without a doubt has seen our bookings increase this year and been a very worthwhile investment." Petruth Paddocks,Campsite, Cheddar, Somerset.

To find out more contact Gareth on 01752 516038 07831548604 gareth@soundviewmedia.co.uk

Hotel Perfect

At Hotel Perfect we don’t just sell software, we use our collective experience and extensive knowledge of technology to bring you an all-encompassing hospitality package. Our range of products include a Property Management System (PMS), Direct Online Booking Engine, Channel Management, Hospitality EPoS, Dashboard Reporting, Guest Relationship Management; and an array of APPS and additional products and services to help maximise revenue and increase efficiency.

A well-established company based in the South West providing specialist IT solutions to the hospitality industry throughout the UK.

Met Office

The Met Office is perhaps best known for its forecasts online, on television, and on radio. But our forecasting know-how goes much further.

Our weather forecasts help to keep the UK moving every day on land and at sea, and help keep you safe in the air. Around the world, our knowledge of the weather and climate informs the long-term decisions and policies of businesses and governments and our Mobile Met Unit supports the UK’s Armed Forces at home and abroad.  We’re also well aware of the impact of the weather on the tourism industry.

To download our new app search ‘Met Office’ in the iPhone App Store or Google Play Store.

Bristol Airport

The West Country is blessed with fantastic tourist attractions, from beautiful natural landscape to culture, history and entertainment. Bristol Airport provides a convenient gateway for visitors, and the good news is that those flying directly into the region are likely to stay longer and spend more, benefiting the local economy. Creating a positive first impression for visitors is at the heart of our brand and a key consideration in the designs of current terminal developments. The West’s world-class tourism offer is also a key factor in attracting new routes and airlines to Bristol Airport. For all these reasons, we are delighted to sponsor these awards and wish all entrants the best of luck.

Forthglade

Forthglade have made natural dog food in the heart of Devon since 1971, using only the finest ingredients sourced from the UK where ever possible. With both complementary and complete foods, each with exceptionally high meat content, the nourishing recipes are hypo allergenic and free from junk and fillers. Forthglade is proud to make wholesome delicious meals for pets that is tail-waggingly good. For further information visit our website

Accord

With 30 years’ experience in the travel, tourism and hospitality, Accord is an independent marketing agency based in North Devon.

Experts in devising and delivering campaigns that drive brand awareness, increase consumer interest and, most importantly, secure bookings - we work with a wide range of self-catering brands, cottage companies, visitor attractions, leisure and theme parks, tourist boards and hotels.

From initial strategy, through to branding and positioning, demographic targeting and campaign planning, it’s our job to brilliantly blend creativity, content and innovation into award-winning campaigns.

Experienced, flexible and energetic, clients come to us for ideas, service and results. 

Twitter - @accordmarketing

Stephens Scown

Stephens Scown LLP is an award-winning legal firm with offices in Exeter, Truro and St Austell. It has over 290 staff, including more than 50 partners, and is one of the largest law firms in Devon and Cornwall, offering a broad range of expert business and personal legal services, as well as expertise in a number of key market sectors including holiday parks, food and drink, agriculture, renewable energy and mining.

Founded in 1938, Stephens Scown is consistently ranked highly in the UK’s top two independent legal guides, Chambers and Legal 500 and was named one of the Sunday Times 100 Best Medium Sized Companies to Work For 2019, ranked at number 44 – the fifth consecutive year they have made it into the top 100. Clients range from individuals to SMEs, FTSE and international companies.

Purple Cloud

Purple Cloud Consultancy has considerable experience of delivering high quality training and offers a range of fun, innovative and inspirational training workshops.

• As the South West delivery partner for the highly successful Welcome to Excellence programme we offer a range of flexible customer service workshops that can be tailored to any business, destination or sector
• Providing the biggest opportunity for personal development in the South West through the ‘Art of Being Brilliant’ seminars, we offer the opportunity to boost happiness, performance and business by creating a positive environment
• Working with some of the South West’s top trainers we are able to offer a range of bespoke courses covering topics such as Leadership & Management, Team Building, Communication, Performance Management and Business and Personal Skills Development
• Offering a range of customer research packages to provide valuable insight into how to manage customer expectations, through the use of mystery shopping, staff surveys and customer feedback

St Austell Brewery

Founded in 1851 by Cornishman Walter Hicks, today St Austell Brewery remains 100% independent and family owned. St Austell Brewery operates a growing and diverse business.

Our brewery in St Austell produces many of the region’s most popular beers for sale in pubs, bars and supermarkets in Cornwall, Devon, across the UK and also overseas.

It’s not just about our own beer; St Austell Brewery is also the South West’s leading wholesale supplier to the licensed hospitality sector, delivering beers, lagers, ciders, wines, spirits and soft drinks to nearly 5000 bars, restaurants, hotels, pubs and clubs in South West England. Indeed company founder Walter Hicks, began as a maltster and wine merchant and today our Walter Hicks Wine business still provides a key component of our offer.

Vickery Holman

As one of the most established and well respected firms of Surveyors, Vickery Holman deliver property consultancy services across the South West. With offices in Truro, Plymouth, Exeter and Bristol they deliver local expertise within the region to their regional and national clients. Regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors their local experts offer a full range of services and specialise within the leisure industry to provide:-

Valuation for secured lending, accounting and tax purposes;
Business rates consultancy for hotels, holiday parks and self-catering complexes;
Service charge administration and management for commercial property and holiday parks
Building surveying services including surveys for purchase, project management and planned maintenance and new developments.