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The Isles of Scilly scooped no less than seven gongs at last night’s dazzling Cornwall Tourism Awards which took place at the Headland Hotel, Newquay.

Hell Bay Hotel won Gold, for the fourth successive year, in the Hotel of the Year category; the World Pilot Gig Championships and Juliet’s Garden both won Silver awards in the Event of the Year and Café & Tearoom of the Year categories, respectively; whilst Carnwethers Country House Cottages (Sustainability Award), Tresco Spa (Spa & Wellbeing Experience Award); Teania St Martin’s (Self Catering Accommodation Award) and Karma St. Martin’s (Dog Friendly Business of the Year) each took Bronze.

This achievement for the islands is particularly significant given the record number of entries this year, which saw an increase to 195 entries in 25 different categories. The awards celebration was enhanced by an entertaining presentation from lyricist and cricket enthusiast Sir Tim Rice who shared anecdotes from his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Elton John.

“In the 15 years since the Cornwall Tourism Awards were launched, this was Scilly’s biggest ever haul, testimony to the islands’ growing confidence in delivering a fantastic tourism product,” says David Jackson, Executive Director, Islands’ Partnership (the Destination Management Organisation for the Isles of Scilly). “We truly hope, and believe, that our success this year – some by Scilly-based businesses who initially might not have considered putting themselves forward – will be the catalyst for even more accommodation providers, attractions and experiences to enter next year and beyond. It was a great night for the islands and a wonderful way to wrap up an excellent season.”

Awards organiser Robin Barker introduced the evening saying: “It always amazes me that this industry continues to innovate and excel. When I was first involved in tourism in Cornwall back in the early 90s, most leading businesses had never heard of ‘sustainable tourism’, it was the era when many were still arguing against the need for en-suite facilities, and the internet was described in a report by a tourism IT expert as having a “rather limited market segment”. “That was in 1997 … and now look at us! The excellence and innovation shown by the winners is literally stupendous.”

The successful finalists from Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly will be fast tracked into matching categories in the South West Tourism Excellence Awards in February 2017 and possibly invited to represent Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in the 2017 National VisitEngland Awards in April.

The full list of finalists, including those who were Highly Commended (which included the Visit Isles of Scilly Tourist Information Centre), can be found on the Cornwall Tourism Awards website.