Swindon Business News travel editor Anne Gorringe has been shortlisted in the Travel Article of the Year category of the prestigious annual VisitEngland Awards for Excellence for her article offering an insider’s guide to Manchester for business visitors.
The high-profile awards will be presented at a glittering ceremony at Cheltenham Racecourse next Monday when Anne, pictured, will join top travel writers in her category along with representatives of visitor attractions and hotels from across England each vying for one of the coveted awards. 
VisitEngland judges were impressed with Anne’s Swindon Business News article ‘24-hours in Manchester’ which aimed at ensuring West business travellers to the city make the most of their day. The feature, part of a series looking at different cities, offered tips on the best art galleries and other attractions to see in a lunch hour, the best bar for a post-meeting drink and where to shop for gifts.
The article also appeared in Swindon Business News’ sister websites Bristol Business News and Bath Business News.
The nomination is further recognition for Anne, a freelance journalist whose travel articles have also featured in the Daily Express, The Independent and Adventure Travel Magazine.
Anne’s previous travel awards include the Best Newcomer title at the Carlson Wagonlit Travel Business Journalism Awards for articles on Swindon Business News, Bath Business News and Bristol Business News.
She also achieved the Online Writer of the Year Award from the Italian Tourist Board for an article about an action-packed trip to the Italian Alps.
Swindon Business News editor and publisher Robert Buckland said: “We pride ourselves on maintaining the highest-quality editorial standards across all our products at a time when other media organisations are heading in the opposite direction. The fact that Anne’s feature is shortlisted for such a prestigious award reflects our commitment to journalism of the highest order.”
Last year’s VisitEngland Travel Article of the Year Award for Excellence went to Brian Jackman for a feature in the Telegraph on Exmoor.
Bath’s Roman Baths took silver in the Large Visitor Attraction of the Year category last year while the At-Bristol Science Centre achieved highly commended in the Sustainable Tourism Section of the awards. However, this year there are no shortlisted attractions from the West of England.
The nearest contenders are Cheltenham’s luxury 5-star hotel Ellenborough Park in the Large Hotel of the Year category, Somerset’s National Trust-owned Coleridge Cottage in Nether Stowey competing for the Small Visitor Attraction of the Year title and Gloucester Tourist Information Centre in the Visitor Information Provider of the Year section.
VisitEngland chief executive James Berresford said: “2014 is a special year for us, our 25th anniversary of hosting the event. The awards celebrate tourism industry excellence and provide a platform to showcase the very best that England has to offer.”
The awards take place at a different high-profile tourist location each year.
- To read Anne’s 24-hours in Manchester feature, go to http://swindon-business.net/index.php/2013/08/01/swindon-business-news-travel-2400-hours-in-manchester/
