Visit England's Tourism Superstar nominations now open

Nominations are now open for VisitEngland’s Tourism Superstar competition 2024. 

VisitEngland’s Tourism Superstar award, now in its twelfth year and run in partnership with the Mirror newspaper, recognises and celebrates those in the tourism industry who go the extra mile to ensure tourists in England have an amazing and unforgettable visitor experience.

For 2024 teams of no more than 10 as well as individuals can once again be nominated for the award.

Tourism Superstar nominees are passionate about where they work and the destination they live in and consistently set the bar high for the standard of service in England’s tourism industry.

You are invited to nominate a team or an individual from your local area for the award. I know that some of you are already running your own competitions so just to ensure there are no clashes, and to give you an idea of timeframes, please see the following dates and deadlines:

• 18 October 2023: VisitEngland’s Tourism Superstar 2024 competition opens.
• 30 November 2023: Deadline for nominations
• Week of 4 December 2023: Judging panel meets to select the 10 Tourism Superstar 2024 finalists.
• 11 December 2023: finalists are informed, successful individuals and teams as well as respective DMOs and businesses informed they are in the top 10 and that filming will start from 12 December 2023.
• Between 12 December 2023 and 19 January 2024: The 10 finalists will be filmed either in London or in their local area for the Mirror website – members of the public will then be able to watch the videos and cast their votes.  The films will also be shown on VisitEngland corporate and social channels.
• 29 February - 11 March 2024: voting opens for the Tourism Superstar 2024 competition. Drive voting to the Mirror website.
• 16 March 2024: Mirror to announce winner in Saturday’s Travel section of the newspaper and online.
• 15 March - 24 March 2024: English Tourism Week 2024.
• The winner of VisitEngland’s Tourism Superstar 2024 will be invited to attend and receive their award at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2024 ceremony in June 2024 - exact date and venue TBC.  Nigel Thompson Travel Editor at the Mirror and Reach Plc will present the award along with the reigning VisitEngland Tourism Superstar.
• Over the course of the year the Superstar winner or winners may be included in other VisitEngland events.

Please bear in mind there may be some slight variations to some of these dates depending on circumstances outside of our control.

See the video of the 2023 finalists on Mirror.co.uk

Please bear in mind that all nominees will need to be willing and able to attend the filming in London or in their locality during December 2023 and January 2024, sign a waiver for the film rights and attend the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2024 ceremony in June 2024 - date and venue TBC. 

In 2023 the competition generated tens of thousands of votes and hundreds of pieces of local media coverage as well as the national media exposure secured through the Mirror partnership. 

Please think carefully about your nominees, individuals or teams.  The most successful past winners have galvanised support from the local community in such a way that the destination has benefitted enormously from the exposure this generated both in the build-up and after the winner was announced.

In addition to filming for the Mirror’s online voting, the films of the 10 nominated Superstars will be used on VisitEngland’s corporate and social channels in the lead up to English Tourism Week 2024 and beyond. The destination, employers and nominees can also use the films. All nominated individuals will have to agree to the filming and to the use of the films on VisitEngland channels through signing a waiver.

Please ensure the person or persons nominated is willing to participate and can travel to attend the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2024 ceremony in June 2024 - exact date and venue TBC.  Once the 10 finalists are selected and informed they will be required to fill in and sign the waiver form to allow VisitEngland rights to the films we create.

To qualify for the Tourism Superstar 2024 competition the nominees must:

• Work for a tourism business or organisation in England and continue to work for that organisation at the time of English Tourism Week 2024.
• Be knowledgeable and passionate about the destination they work in and happy to talk about the destination outside of their work remit.
• Go above and beyond the call of duty to make the visitor experience memorable.
• Be available and willing to travel to London or be on site at their workplace from 12 December 2023 – 19 January 2024 to be filmed and happy for that film to be posted on the Mirror website for a number of weeks and used on VisitEngland’s social media channels as well as those of their DMO and employer.
• Be available to attend the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2024 ceremony in June 2024 - exact date and venue TBC.
• Be aware that they have been nominated and happy to participate in any related PR and media opportunities during or post the announcement of the winner.
• The 10 finalists will be required to fill in and sign a waiver form to allow VisitEngland rights to the films created.
• Previous winners must leave at least one year before applying again.

Please send charlotte.sanders@visitengland.org your nomination no later than 30 November 2023.  The list of the 10 finalists will be revealed to those winners and nominating organisations and/or DMOs on 11 December 2023.  More details of the filming schedule will then be communicated.

More information on Tourism Superstar 2024 and how it will work:

• The 10 shortlisted candidates (teams or individuals) will be filmed either in London or in their local area in December 2023 and January 2024.  Their mini films (45 seconds max) will be posted on www.mirror.co.uk from 26 February -  11 March 2024 where the public will be able to vote for their favourite finalist. They will essentially have between 30 - 45 seconds to say why they should be VisitEngland’s Tourism Superstar 2024.  The dates for individual filming will be agreed and confirmed as soon as possible.
• The films will also be used on VistEngland’s corporate and consumer channels.  The Superstars will be filmed going about their daily roles as tourism ambassadors. The finalist will need to fill in and sign a waiver form for this.
• The Mirror will publicise the online voting mechanism on its website and in the paper throughout the campaign and via X, formerly known as Twitter.
• VisitEngland will promote the campaign via its various corporate and social channels.
• Readers will vote on which Tourism Superstar they think should win.
• The most successful candidates in the past have been supported by robust destination-led media and social media campaigns throughout the voting period.
• The winner will be invited to attend the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2024 ceremony in June 2024 - exact date and venue TBC.

Please support English Tourism Week 2024 and nominate your Tourism Superstar!  We look forward to receiving your nominations.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact charlotte.sanders@visitengland.org.