City News

Judging was recently finalised for the 2009 Heart of England Excellence in Tourism Awards, known affectionately as the ‘Tourism Oscars’ and among those receiving awards was Warwick based tourist guiding and training company, Guiding you Ltd. They were short-listed for the ‘Access for All’ and ‘Regional Culture’ award categories and were awarded ‘Highly Commended’ status in both.

After the awards ceremony, owners and managers of Guiding You Ltd., Leigh and David Waite commented: “As Blue Badge Tourist Guides, we were absolutely delighted to be awarded ‘Highly Commended’ in two categories, especially as those short listed with us included big names such as Cadbury World, Birmingham Hippodrome and Shugborough Hall. We are really proud of our commitment to giving both our able and our disabled customers a very high quality service and going the extra mile for them in introducing the culture and attractions of the Heart of England region. It’s really great to have this recognised by the industry again this year”.

Guiding you Ltd organise and provide car, coach and walking tours, itinerary planning, ground handling, familiarisation visits, talks, presentations and client welcoming, together with training; for heritage guides and stewards, and in public speaking workshops for businesses and the general public. This is the second year that the Guiding You Ltd., has been recognised in the Excellence Awards. In 2008 they won the ‘Silver’ award for excellent Customer Service. They also currently hold the Quality at Heart ‘Gold’ Service-mark award for excellence in customer service.

Guiding You Ltd joined the cream of the Heart of England’s tourism industry at the glittering ‘Excellence Awards’ ceremony in Birmingham, where premier tourism providers from across the Heart of England were joined by industry stakeholders, and media. Hosted by BBC presenters Nick Owen and Suzanne Virdee, the awards celebrated the very best in tourism from Birmingham, The Black Country, Staffordshire, Coventry and Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Herefordshire.

In describing all this years entrants, Brian Summers, chairman of Tourism West Midlands said, “The calibre of the winners is the highest I have ever seen. This year we have had record entries and a record attendance. All the winners demonstrated outstanding levels of customer service, plus exemplary facilities. They have also shown a deep commitment to sustainability, the environment and being accessible to all.

The Tourism Oscars are supported by the Regional Development Agency, Advantage West Midlands, through Tourism West Midlands, the strategic tourism board, and are presented annually to celebrate tourism across the region.