YOUR TIME TO SHINE IN THE LANCASHIRE TOURISM AWARDS 2026
Lancashire’s only county-wide awards for tourism and hospitality businesses
Marketing Lancashire, the county’s Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) has now opened applications for this year’s competition to find the very best tourism and hospitality businesses in Lancashire.
Tourism and hospitality businesses across Lancashire are invited to apply and with 22 categories available, there’s something to suit every business. Choose from Large Hotel to Small Visitor Attraction, Pub of the Year to the Accessible Tourism Award, plus many more. Applications must be submitted by Friday 18th July, with the finalists announced in August.
Through the remainder of the summer many of the finalists will be visited by professional mystery shoppers who will provide useful insights for the panel of specially selected industry judges, before the finalists have face-to-face interviews with those judges in November.
The Lancashire Tourism Awards 2026 ceremony, announcing all the winners, will take place in February 2026, with venue and date soon to be confirmed.
Last year’s awards saw the introduction of the Taste Lancashire Producer Awards, which will play a part in the Lancashire Tourism Awards 2026, with applications opening later in the year.
Winners in 14 categories of the Lancashire Tourism Awards 2026 will automatically progress to the national Visit England Excellence Awards. Eight at Gazegill by Doug Crampton, an eco-inspired farm to fork restaurant nestled in the Ribble Valley, was the winner of the New Tourism Business Award at last year’s Lancashire Tourism Awards, and became a success story for Lancashire as they went on to win Bronze in the Visit England Awards For Excellence for the same category earlier this month. The Lancashire Tourism Awards are the only entry route for tourism businesses based in Lancashire, into the national awards.
Maria Moriarty Eames, Head of Partnerships at Marketing Lancashire said: “As the LVEP for Lancashire, we are committed to being the most passionate champions of the county’s tourism and hospitality sector. Recognising the £5.4 billion contribution these businesses make to the local economy through our annual Lancashire Tourism Awards is just one of the ways in which this is possible. Similarly, the social value impact of these businesses brings a sense of community pride, wellbeing and social cohesion which all supports our wider work to promote Lancashire as a great place to live, work, study and invest.
“The Lancashire Tourism Award judges are accustomed to a flood of applications from businesses that are thriving, innovating and achieving their goals, and we know this year’s applicants will be just as impressive.
“We are so proud of the achievements and the resilience of our industry colleagues, in what continues to be a difficult period for the sector, and we are grateful to the many institutions, organisation and suppliers that have already agreed to support this year’s awards. Lancashire is pulling together like never before, allowing the county to shine ever more brightly.”
For information on all the categories, criteria for entry, important deadlines, application forms and the latest #LTA26 news go to LancashireTourismAwards.com and follow @MarketingLancs on X and LinkedIn.
Marketing Lancashire will host a Lancashire Tourism Awards Masterclass online on Tuesday 24th June 2025. Register your interest here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lancashire-tourism-awards-application-masterclass-tickets-1419663534849
If you are interested in sponsoring or supporting the Lancashire Tourism Awards 2026 please email Maria Moriarty Eames on [email protected]