Fish ’n’ Fritz have been awarded Bronze in this year’s South West Tourism Excellence Awards.
On Thursday, 22nd April, 76 winners were announced at the 2020/21 South West Tourism Excellence Awards in an emotional online event.
Sponsored by South West Water, the awards programme opened for entry in March 2020 and, with plenty of adaptations and extensions along the way, it concluded on 22 April 2021. In the same way that hospitality businesses have had to change and innovate during this extraordinary period, so too have the awards, with judging taking account of business entries, digital presence and feedback along with evidence of Covid-secure measures, prior to decisions taken by an independent panel.
On receiving the Bronze award, Paul Hay, owner of Fish ’n’ Fritz, said: “All the staff of Fish ’n’ Fritz are incredibly proud to be awarded Bronze in the Southwest tourism awards.
It means so much to us all to be recognised for the hard work that we do within Fish ’n’ Fritz, helping the community and doing our best to keep everyone safe. Seeing how proud our team are of becoming a finalist is a great feeling. We want to thank the Southwest tourism awards all of the sponsors including, South West Water and Plymouth Business School.
A massive congratulations to The PIG at Combe for winning gold for the casual dining award this year. I’m sure has tested each business in different ways & everyone should be proud of their achievements.”
Winners came from Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Bristol, Bath, Devon and Cornwall. Accommodation, food and drink, attractions, events and experiences all had their winners, along with those recognised for innovation, new businesses, sustainable tourism and accessibility.
Jo Ecroyd, Customer Service Director of headline sponsors South West Water said: “We’re delighted to be headline sponsors of this year’s South West Tourism Awards. As a top FTSE business in the South West, we see it as our responsibility to promote and contribute to the regional economy, in which tourism plays such an important role. It has certainly been a challenging year for businesses, and we applaud all our winners for their perseverance in the face of the challenges from the pandemic over the past year.”
Rob Scarrott, Head of Water Resources and Planning at South West Water said: “Special congratulations to The Sanctuary for winning the Extraordinary Water Efficiency Award at this year’s South West Tourism Awards. The economy and wellbeing of our region is reliant on the environment we live in. That’s why we’re keen to continue our work with the tourism sector to enhance and protect our natural environment and to ensure that the South West is a sustainable and beautiful place to live and visit for many years to come.”
Robin Barker, Director of Services for Tourism Ltd, who manage the Awards, commented: “I feel honoured to have been involved in the awards over the past year and the last decade. Of all the years, this has been the one that has generated the most challenges as well as the most emotions, and we are so gratified to have played our part in giving our outstanding businesses something to celebrate. They are all so deserving! We can’t wait to get out and visit as many of them as possible.”
Co-organiser Nell Barrington added: “I have been really humbled to hear stories from these amazing tourism and hospitality businesses about how they have overcome adversity in these terrible times. It has been great to be able to celebrate their success today and I hope they have a fantastic season. Congratulations to them all.”
The full list of Winners and Commended entrants can be found here.