A new search has been launched to find the best tourism businesses in North Wales to celebrate the successes of the £2.8 billion a year visitor industry.

Nominations from companies in Gwynedd, Anglesey, Conwy and Denbighshire are being sought for prestigious Go North Wales Awards after last year's inaugural event proved to be a huge hit.

And with many more categories up for grabs organisers North Wales Tourism are hoping for an even bigger and better Oscars-style ceremony this time around.   

They awards are being run by private sector body North Wales Tourism, in partnership with Heart North and Mid Wales, and will be handed out at a glittering gala dinner on Thursday, November 16 at Venue Cymru, Llandudno. 

The guest of honour will be the Welsh Government's Cabinet Secretary for the Economy and Infrastructure, Ken Skates, while well-known Heart radio presenters Lois Cernyw and Oli Kemp will jointly host the black-tie event.

This year eight new categories have been added to the awards, including Best Self-Catering Accommodation, Best Hotel, Best B&B, Best Restaurant, Best Marketing Campaign, Sports/Adventure Tourism, Young Tourism Person and Art in Tourism awards.

North Wales is at the centre of the growing adventure holidays market and is earning recognition as a world leader thanks to developments like Zip World, Surf Snowdonia and the Snowdonia Pass provided by the Attractions of Snowdonia.

At the same time more than £100 million of mainly private sector money is currently being invested in tourism-related projects in the region.

North Wales Tourism managing director Jim Jones said: “These awards are all about celebrating everything that’s wonderful in North Wales.

“They will showcase and celebrate the achievements, hard work and dedication of the hundreds of entrepreneurs who run businesses in this area.

“Tourism and hospitality are worth millions to the economy of North Wales, with the value growing every year.

“We want people to nominate their tourism business, by demonstrating their success and showing how they offer an exceptional experience to visitors – one that makes people return time and again to North Wales.”

“This year we’ve added a substantial number of new categories so that we can highlight a much broader range of fantastic achievements.

Last year’s inaugural Go North Wales Tourism Awards attracted over 300 entries and with more categories on offer we’re expecting a major increase in that number for this year to make for an even bigger and better showcase of achievement and talent.

Nominations can be made via the website GoNorthWalesTourismAwards.co.uk right up until October 1. A judging panel will then draw up a shortlist in each category, with those shortlisted being announced on October 23. Winners will then be announced at the presentation evening on November 16.

The categories for nominations are: Best Use of Digital, Best Self-Catering Accommodation, Best B&B, Best Hotel, Best Attraction, Best Restaurant, Best Food or Drink Provider, Best Caravan, Camping or Glamping, The Green Award, Best Newcomer, Tourism Business Innovation Award, Best Marketing Campaign, Magnificent Crowd-Puller (Under 7.5K), Magnificent Crowd-Puller (Over 7.5K), Sports/Adventure Tourism Award, Young Tourism Person of the Year and finally, Art in Tourism Award.

North Wales Tourism is one of the UK’s leading tourism organisations, supporting businesses across the region’s six counties.  Its aim is to build and maintain a prosperous and sustainable tourism industry in North Wales.

More details at 01492 539058 or gonorthwalestourismawards.co.uk