After winning Gold at the Dorset Tourism Awards earlier this year, Activate has continued its success and won Gold in the Tourism Event / Festival of the Year category at the regional South West Tourism Excellence Awards at a ceremony held at the Eden Project on 23 March.
482 entries were submitted from organisations across the South West and an impressive 21 Dorset businesses made it through as finalists. Activate went on to take top prize in their category, with Sherborne Abbey Festival taking Bronze and Wells Cathedral scooping Silver.
The Awards are a culmination of 11 months of evidence gathering and judging. Independent judges critique entry submissions, websites, social media and review sites, as well as making mystery visits to businesses.
Kate Wood, Activate’s Executive and Artistic Director said, “We are delighted that the success of Inside Out Dorset 2021 has been recognised in this way. We were joined in our category (Tourism Event / Festival of the Year) by Sherborne Abbey Festival and Wells Cathedral, who we know provided great events in 2021 too. Winning a regional accolade shows the importance of arts and culture to the region and tourism sector. Planning is underway for this year’s Inside Out Dorset and we can’t wait to replicate the success by offering extraordinary events in extraordinary locations, and seeing tourists and locals enjoying great art in our wonderful county.”
