• Some 40 venues set to vie for regional recognition at the West Midlands Tourism Awards 2026
  • Awards celebrate best practice in the region’s accommodation, cultural settings, culinary venues and tourist attractions
  • West Midlands winners will automatically feed up to the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence

 

The venues competing for honours at the 2026 West Midlands Tourism Awards have been revealed, with 40 of the region’s best visitor-facing businesses shortlisted in 14 different categories.

 

Visitor economy organisations across the West Midlands – from Birmingham to Brierley Hill, Cosford to Coventry, Solihull to Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick to Wolverhampton – will discover their destiny at a special celebration of tourism next spring.

 

The finalists in two further award categories will be announced in December – the ‘Tourism Event / Festival of the Year’, and a new prize given to recognise an individual who has made an ‘Outstanding Contribution to Tourism’.

 

Now in their sixth year, the West Midlands Tourism Awards celebrate the region’s best accommodation; business, cultural and sporting event venues; food and drink settings; and visitor and heritage attractions. They are organised and funded by the West Midlands Growth Company, which leads the region’s Destination Development Partnership.

 

Andrew Lovett OBE, Chair of the West Midlands Tourism & Hospitality Advisory Board, said:

“The West Midlands Tourism Awards is one of my favourite dates in the diary – an opportunity each year to celebrate and honour the best people and businesses, which make visiting our great region so memorable.

 

“Awards provide a big boost to businesses in a competitive market where economic headwinds can be substantial. As Chief Executive of the Black Country Living Museum, I have seen at first hand the positive impact of winning a regional and national Tourism Award, bringing a new wave of attention for the museum and our fabulous staff among visitors and media.

 

“I congratulate each and every one of this year’s shortlisted venues – including those running our fantastic independent tourism businesses – and wish them every success on the night.”

 

Regional winners will automatically feed up to the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, which champions the best in England’s tourism industry each summer. In 2025, following regional success, the West Midlands became home to the country’s Large Visitor Attraction of the Year (Black Country Living Museum, Dudley) and Large Hotel of the Year (Mallory Court Country House Hotel & Spa, Leamington Spa).

 

2025 has been a momentous year for tourism in the West Midlands. In July, the global spotlight was on the region as more than 250,000 culture, sport and food fans visited for high-profile events including Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning; Test Match cricket between England and India; and the Godiva Festival. As a result, the West Midlands recorded the largest increase in hotel occupancy (6%) across the whole of England compared to 12 months earlier.

 

Notable milestones in 2025 have included the 10th year of the Jewellery Quarter Festival; 25th anniversary of the New Art Gallery in Walsall; and the Birmingham Balti’s 50th birthday.

 

For more information about the West Midlands’ tourism offer, log on to visitbirmingham.com.

 

West Midlands Tourism Awards 2026 finalists

Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award

  • Royal Air Force Museum Midlands (Cosford)
  • The Box @ FarGo Village (Coventry)
  • West Midlands Police Museum (Birmingham)

 

Business Events Venue of the Year

  • Hyatt Regency Birmingham
  • Malmaison Birmingham
  • Warwick Conferences (Coventry)

 

Café/Coffee Shop of the Year

  • Crumbles Coffee House and Deli (Wolverhampton)
  • Ten Steps Coffee Lounge (Brierley Hill)
  • The Two Mugs (Shirley)

 

Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year

  • Acton Scott Escapes (Church Stretton)
  • Riverside Cabins (Shrewsbury)
  • The Barns at Blackwater Meadow (Ellesmere)

 

Regenerative Tourism Award

  • Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre (Birmingham)
  • Riverside Cabins (Shrewsbury)
  • Stourbridge Glass Museum (Stourbridge)

 

Experience of the Year

  • A World of Whisky (Grain & Glass) (Birmingham)
  • Cotswolds in a Day Tour (Go Cotswolds) (Stratford-upon-Avon / Moreton in Marsh)
  • RSC Tours (The Royal Shakespeare Company) (Stratford-upon-Avon)
  • The Shakespeare Express (Vintage Trains Ltd) (Birmingham)

 

Restaurant of the Year

  • Fazenda Birmingham
  • Libertine Burger (Stratford-upon-Avon)
  • Trentina (Birmingham)
  • Zindiya (Birmingham)

 

Large Hotel of the Year

  • Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre (Birmingham)
  • Hotel du Vin Birmingham
  • The Grand Hotel Birmingham

 

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year

  • Belgrade Theatre (Coventry)
  • British Motor Museum (Gaydon)
  • Compton Verney (Warwick)
  • Royal Air Force Museum Midlands (Cosford)

 

New Tourism Business of the Year

  • Indie Mart @ FarGo Village (Coventry)
  • Pesto at The White Swan (Wythall)
  • Putt Putt Social Coventry
  • The Taste of Shrewsbury Experience (Walking Food Tours UK)

 

Pub of the Year

  • The Bull’s Head - part of Thwaites (Earlswood, Solihull)
  • The Howard Arms Ilmington

 

Self Catering Accommodation of the Year

  • Ironbridge View Townhouse
  • Westhope Country Retreats (Craven Arms)

 

Small Serviced Accommodation of the Year

  • Burnside Hotel (Stratford-upon-Avon)
  • Goldstone Hall Hotel & Gardens (Market Drayton)

 

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year

  • Shakespeare Distillery (Stratford-upon-Avon)
  • St Mary's Guildhall (Coventry)
  • The Lord Leycester (Warwick)