Despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s Group Leisure & Travel Awards ceremony went ahead with a special online broadcast to recognise the top attractions, tour operators and experiences as voted for by group travel organisers.
Group Leisure & Travel Magazine is a monthly publication, read by people who organise group trips for friends, colleagues, clubs, societies and companies. The annual Group Leisure & Travel Awards recognise the best providers, attractions and destinations for groups, as voted for by readers of Group Leisure & Travel.
Coventry Cathedral was nominated in the category of ‘Best Historic Attraction or Venue’, in an extremely strong field which also included Alnwick Castle, Belvoir Castle, Blenheim Palace, Bletchley Park and Buckingham Palace - who won the category last year.
The Cathedral’s Head of Tourism and Engagement, Carla, said;
"Winning this award against such strong competition would always have been an amazing honour, but winning it at a time which is so unusual and tricky for the tourism industry as a whole makes it feel even more special. This award is a testament not only to the hard work of our customer facing Welcome Team, but also those who work tirelessly behind the scenes across the organisation – staff and volunteers. Everyone works together keep the Cathedral at its best for our visitors. We are incredibly thankful and look forward to welcoming more visitors in the coming months so we can show you just why we’re an award winning Cathedral!"
The 2020 ceremony was full of surprises including tricks by magician and TV presenter Ben Hanlin, best known for his award-winning ITV2 series Tricked as well as finishing as a semi-finalist in this year’s Dancing on Ice.
Ben said:
“We’ve had 116 finalists and 20 winners, congratulations to everyone. It was an absolute pleasure to host the awards and it’s great that the GLT team has been able to make it happen.”
The annual initiative, now in its 24th year, is organised by Group Leisure & Travel. A total of 20 awards were announced, including Best UK Attraction and Best Guided Tour.
For more information about the awards, and to watch on-demand replays of the ceremony, which includes a subtitle option, go to www.groupleisureandtravel.com/awards.