The public vote to find the winner of the 2016 Isles of Scilly Photography Competition is underway after the 1,010 entries were whittled down to just 35! There are 7 categories with 5 photos.
Voting closes midnight on Sunday 20th November after which the photographer of the photo with the most votes will win a three-night break for two to Tregarthen’s Hotel and return travel on the Scillonian III.
You can cast your vote via this link.
Philip Callan, General Manager of the award-winning Hell Bay Hotel was yesterday at the IP’s AGM elected onto the Islands’ Partnership’s Board of Directors. Robert Francis, Euan Rodger and Jon May were re-elected for a further three-year term.
The Islands’ Partnership thanked Sarah Mason, CEO of the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust for her invaluable input and the hard work she put into being an IP director for the last three years. The IP intends to continue to work closely with Sarah and the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust particularly as teh IP looks at planning for the future of tourism on the islands.
The finalists in the Cornwall Tourism Awards 2016/17 have been announced and no less that seven Scilly businesses are up for awards, more than in any previous years. This year saw a record number of entries from Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, up 13% to 195 in total, which makes this achievement by Scilly even more noteworthy.
Scilly’s finalists, who will be up for Gold, Silver or Bronze Awards at the Awards evening at the Headland Hotel in Newquay, Cornwall on Thursday 3rd November, are:
In addition, the Isles of Scilly Tourist Information Centre was Highly Commended in this year’s selection process.
Hell Bay Hotel has been a finalist for the last three years and for the last two has won the Gold Award in the Small Hotel of the Year and has gone on to represent Scilly at the VisitEngland awards. Juliet’s and Tresco Spa are also previous Cornwall Tourism Award winners.
The Islands’ Partnership was once again instrumental in encouraging members to take part in the Awards, and in assisting those businesses who came forward to write their extensive bids. Submissions were made by a number of businesses across the 25 categories, and even those who didn’t make the shortlist will benefit from receiving the judges’ reports and recommendations following the extensive three-stage judging process.
Robin Barker, Director of Services for Tourism who runs the awards programme comments: “The Isles of Scilly have really punched above their weight this year, a reflection of the ever increasing quality of the leading tourism businesses on the islands. Having seven finalists – more than ever before – and a highly commended entry in this year’s Cornwall Tourism Awards is a real coup, and all concerned are to be warmly congratulated.”
David Jackson, Executive Director of Islands’ Partnership, comments: “It’s fantastic to see so many finalists from Scilly this year – testament to the truly exceptional visitor experience that Scilly offers. Good luck to all of our finalists on the 3rd November; let’s hope it’s a great night for Scilly.”
Successful businesses in the Cornwall Awards will be fast tracked into the South West Tourism Excellence Awards in February 2017 and possibly invited to represent Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in the 2016/2017 National VisitEngland Awards.
Five candidates have put themselves forward to be (re)elected at this year’s Islands’ Partnership Annual General Meeting, to be hosted on Thursday 13th October. Four will be elected.
The candidates, in alphabetical order, are:
• Philip Callan
• Robert Francis
• Sarah Mason
• Jon May
• Euan Rodger
Each candidate has been invited to submit a short resume of their credentials. A full list of the candidates followed by their resumes can be found in the Members’ area under Briefings & Information Updates, together with all the AGM papers.
As well as voting for new IP directors, the AGM be an opportunity for IP members to meet James Beresford, our chairman (and former VisitEngand CEO) who will deliver some invaluable insight into tourism as well as thoughts on the future of tourism on Scilly. The meeting will also cover off the usual financial and business matters and highlight the IP’s particular plans for the forthcoming year.
Doors will open at the Church Hall (Charity Shop) on St. Mary’s at 10am for a prompt 11am start.
