Large Visitor Attraction
of the Year
Sponsored by
Theme Parks and Attractions
www.takeonemedia.co.uk
Title Sponsor
www.saffery.com
Large Visitor Attraction of the Year
Who can enter?
This category covers all visitor attractions with more than 50,000 visitors a year, including those
attractions that offer pre-booked tickets, museums, interpretation centres, theme parks,
historic houses and castles; but sporting events such as race days can not be classified in this
category.
It is not essential that attractions are signed up to the Code of Practice for Visitor Attractions or
VAQAS standard, or Place of Interest Quality Assurance Scheme but participants are
encouraged to use reports from such schemes as supporting evidence. If you are not signed up
to the Code of Practice (entry is free) just email attractions@visitengland.org or telephone 0207
5781451.
You may submit one electronic PDF or word document (not lots of files in one folder) as
supporting evidence. This is voluntary and NOT essential for these Awards but may help you to
illustrate points made in this entry that are not shown on your website. If submitted the
document should be less than 5mb in size and the information provided should be used only to
illustrate points made in your entry form, otherwise it will be disregarded. If you wish to
include images or scans of certificates please do so in your supporting evidence not on this
entry form.
Judges will refer to your website and review sites for additional information and verification,
including evidence of environmental and access policies.
Please give details here of the individual who will be the point of contact for the awards.
Contact Name:
Business Name:
Address:
Telephone number:
Email (for us to contact you):
Website address:
PR contact (if different):
Business details
Are you a member of VAQAS, PIQAS? Please specify
Have you signed the National Code of Practice for Visitor Attractions?
Please specify any other trade bodies you are members of:
Please state any periods each year when your property is closed
Please state how long you have been running as a business
Please state your visitor numbers for the last 12 months and how many of these were school
visitors
Please state how many staff you employ (full time ____ and part time ____)
Please give a brief history of your attraction (max 200 words).
Visitor numbers and seasonality
Please provide your visitor numbers for the last 12 months and how this compares to the
previous year.
Please state period eg Jan to Dec, April to March
Last 12 months
etc
Total visitor numbers for year
What percentage was repeat business, if known?
%
Visitors during peak season (April to September)
Visitors during low season (October to March)
Previous year
%
Please explain your figures, and describe how your attraction is contributing towards Dorset
being a vibrant and welcoming visitor destination throughout 12 months of the year.
(max 200 words)
Checklist
In your answer think about the following:
 Whether visitor numbers have gone up, or down, and why?
 Any products, packages, partnerships or promotions you have implemented to improve low
season numbers
 Check you have completed the visitor number figures
Section 1: Commitment to Excellence
a) What are your unique selling points? What makes you the best and puts you above the
competition and at the top of your sector? (200 words max)
Checklist
Evidence might include:
 Your USPs
 Customer testimonials about your USPs
 Mission statement describing your values
 Any information that supports why you are at the top of your sector eg press, quotes etc
b) Please demonstrate how you ensure the highest quality visitor experience and outstanding
customer service is provided before, during and after your guests visit. Please give examples.
(max 300 words)
Checklist
Evidence might include:
 Information you provide to your visitors when booking, on arrival and follow up, what
format is this information available in
 Examples of how you excel in customer care; how you give a warm welcome and go the
extra mile to exceed your visitors expectations eg feedback/testimonials relating to
customer service
 Complaints policies/procedures
c) Please give details of any improvements and developments that you have made to your
business to enhance your customers’ experience within the last 2 years (was it based on
customer feedback?) and explain the impact eg % increase in positive feedback, sales etc.
Checklist
Evidence might include:
 Refurbishments, improvements, extra facilities or services you provide; was this as a result
of feedback?
 Customer feedback
 Reports on impact
Section 2: Accessibility and Equality
Give details of how your attraction is accessible to all its customers including:
1. Customer service that caters for all customers including those with access requirements (inc
mobility, sensory, dietary, etc).
2. Accessibility information provision and promotion (before and during visit)
3. Accessible facilities and services
(max 200 words)
Checklist
Evidence might include:
 Accessibility training eg Welcome All
 Testimonials/examples of how you have looked after a customer with access needs
 Examples of how you promote the accessibility of your business
 In what alternative formats can you provide information about your business?
 How easy is it to find out about the accessibility of your offering, is there a link from your
home page?
Section 3: Sustainability credentials
a) Describe what you have done to improve the way your business supports the local
environment and community giving specific examples of how you care for:
 The environment eg recycling, resource, energy saving, waste management, eco friendly
products etc
 The local community eg links with organisations, schools, charities, sponsorship etc
 Local economy eg purchasing, employment, businesses, suppliers
b) Describe how you promote your sustainability credentials to visitors and staff and how you
encourage them to get involved eg using public transport, car share etc? (200 words max)
Checklist
Evidence might include:
 Actions undertaken
 Media coverage of work done
 Your sustainability policy
 Links to any web pages relating to sustainability
 Relevant sustainability awards
Section 4: Innovative Marketing
Please describe your target market and explain briefly how you attract new and repeat business,
including any innovative promotional campaigns and what impact they have had.
(max 300 words)
Checklist
Evidence might include:
 Your marketing plan, materials, innovative promotional campaigns you have run and how
you measure success
 Links to online marketing activities and evidence of how you optimise your website to
achieve maximum impact
 How you engage with your customers and social media online eg blogs, replying to ratings
on Tripadvisor.com
 Examples of how you use customer testimonials and feedback
NB Judges will separately look at websites on PCs and tablets, along with use of social media,
how you manage your online reputation on TripAdvisor and review sites etc
Section 5: Staff Training and Development
Please give details of your staff (and your own) training and development activities during the
past two years and how has it improved the visitor experience/service to guests. How do you
ensure staff remain motivated, feel part of the team and obtain knowledge to ensure the
customer receives the highest standard of service? (max 200 words)
Checklist
Evidence might include:
 Your training plan, details of staff induction and appraisal
 Training courses attended eg Welcome Host Gold etc
 Details of the investment in training made for you and your staff
 How training has improved your customers’ experience
 Any awards or accreditation you have received
Please note that it is a requirement of entry that entrants agree to waive or refund the
admission/participation and catering cost of a mystery visit should the entry be
successful in being short listed. A mystery visit will normally comprise a visit for 2 guests
(or up to 5 for a family experience), possibly including a meal and relevant refreshments,
depending on the nature of the experience. The visit will result in a full report being given
to the entrant. Receipt of your entry is taken as agreement to this requirement. If your
internal procedures require you to issue a purchase order or set up Services for Tourism
Ltd as a supplier, please ensure this is done without delay.
Please email your entry AS A ‘WORD’ DOCUMENT to awards@services4tourism.co.uk by the
close date for the Awards, published at www.dorsettourismawards.org.uk. (DO NOT convert to
pdf, as this prevents judges checking word counts).
A supplementary file, if sent, should be no more than 5mb in size, should have a file name that
includes your business name, and should also be emailed to the above address. Please note
that supplementary files are voluntary and NOT essential for these awards, but that Judges will
look at online evidence such as websites, review sites, etc.
All entrants will be advised of their judges’ scores and how these compare with maximum
scores in the category.
Future communications will be from Services for Tourism Ltd, who are managing the Dorset
Tourism Awards. Their email address is: awards@services4tourism.co.uk. Please add this
address to your address book, to avoid communications being treated as Spam/Junk; if you do
not add this address and are awaiting news please ensure you check your Spam/Junk folders to
see if news is being filtered out.
What happens next?
The initial judging will be based on the information provided within the application form along
with websites, review sites such as TripAdvisor and other external sources. At least five
businesses will normally be short listed in the first stage of judging for each category. All
entrants will receive feedback. Short listed businesses will be visited (mystery shopped where
possible). In general we will try to visit or mystery shop as many businesses as we can.
Good Luck
All entry forms are copyright Services for Tourism Ltd 2015.