The annual Leicestershire Promotions Tourism & Hospitality Awards have been launched to find the best tourism businesses in Leicestershire. There are 25 categories in the 2018 awards including seven new categories - Best Cocktail; Best Customer Service; Innovation in Marketing; Best Night Out; Best Shopping Experience; Best Garden Centre; and Best Outdoor Experience.

This year’s categories include:

Theme: Great Place to Stay

· Most Enjoyable Stay - Self Catering

· Most Enjoyable Stay - Guest House/Hotel

· Innovative Business Tourism Partner

Theme: Proud of our People

· Best Customer Service – new for 2018

· Best Team

· Inspiring Manager

· Rising Star

· Innovation in Marketing - new for 2018

· Best Local Food & Drink Producer

Theme: Great Place to Eat & Drink

· Best Casual Dining Experience

· Best Local Food/Farm Shop

· Best Afternoon Tea

· Best Pub Experience

· Best Cocktail – new for 2018

· Best Formal Dining Experience

· Best Leicestershire Breakfast

Theme: Fabulous Things to Do

· Favourite Festival or Event – Paid

· Favourite Festival or Event – Free

· Great Day Out – Paid

· Great Day Out – Free

· Best Night Out – new for 2018

· Best Shopping Experience – new for 2018

· Best Garden Centre – new for 2018

· Best Town or Village

· Best Outdoor Experience – new for 2018

The applications process is now open. For more details on how to apply, visit http://bit.ly/THAwards2018

Leicestershire Promotions has also unveiled the first two sponsors for this year’s event with both Everards and Pear Communications confirmed as corporate supporters.

Ed Pereira, Director at Pear Communications said:

"Leicestershire is a vibrant, diverse and exciting county. We decided to sponsor a category at the awards because they showcase the strength and depth of the local tourism industry. As the largest distributor of printed materials in the UK, we have had the pleasure of investing in our growing network and staff in Leicestershire, and will continue to do so well into 2018/19 supporting the local attractions in communicating their fabulous unique offerings.”

Erika Hardy, Head of Marketing at Everards commented:

"We’re well known for pubs and brewing but people are at the heart of our business so we’re delighted to continue our support of these awards. It’s fantastic to see so many great local people and businesses recognised in our home county."

Martin Peters, Chief Executive of Leicestershire Promotions added:

“Last year’s event was a tremendous success with 24 awards presented on the night in front of an audience of over 400 people from the local tourism industry. To reflect the breadth and strengths of the Leicestershire tourism sector, we’ve extended the number of categories this year and can’t wait to see the quality of the applications from local businesses.”

Regular updates will also be posted on the @l_p_l Twitter page, using the #THAwards18 hashtag. The awards ceremony will be held at Athena in Leicester on 29 November 2018.

About Leicestershire Promotions:

Leicestershire Promotions is an independent tourism specialist, delivering campaigns, events and services to develop tourism offers and attract more visitors to a growing portfolio of leading tourism destinations. For more information, go to www.lpltourism.com or follow us on Twitter at @l_p_l

For further media information, please contact:

Simon Gribbon

Leicestershire Promotions

T: 07990 583371

simon.gribbon@l-p-l.com