The county's tourism champion, Visit Kent, has scooped another major national award.

The organisation, which promotes the county's tourism offering, was named Destination Management Organisation of the Year by UKinbound, a leading travel trade association representing more than 400 of the UK's top tourism businesses.

It was presented during its annual Awards for Excellence gala dinner event, this year held in Bristol.

A panel of independent judges compiled the shortlist, based on self-nominations from member companies, with the final winners voted for by the membership.

Joss Croft, CEO at UKinbound said: “Our annual awards provide us with a fantastic opportunity to give deserved recognition to members that have excelled in their sector, and we’re delighted to name Visit Kent this year’s Destination Management Organisation of the Year. Each of our members positively contributed to the UK’s tourism sector in 2019 and our awards allow us to acknowledge a number of their outstanding performances.”

Deirdre Wells, Visit Kent CEO, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have received this prestigious award, which is a huge testament to the years of hard work our travel trade team has dedicated to this important area of activity, as well as the wider team here at Visit Kent for their year-round hard work promoting our great destination to new and returning visitors.”

Several factors were cited by the panel as having strongly contributed to Visit Kent’s award win, including; successful engagement with inbound tour operators on two Discover England Fund projects - Gourmet Garden Trails of England, and England’s Creative Coast - the launch of a brand-new travel trade resource hub, and the roll-out of this year’s event-led #KentyTwenty activity.

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