Strattons Hotel in Swaffham, Norfolk, was awarded Gold in the new Sustainable Tourism category.  Strattons, a classical and elegant Queen Anne villa hidden away in its own peaceful courtyard, a minute's walk from the market place, was once home to Howard Carter, who discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb.   This luxurious boutique hotel has been quietly working to reduce its impact on the environment since its opening in 1990 - it has won many environmental awards over the past few years and the owners are adamant that quality need not be compromised in order to be environmentally aware .

Vanessa Scott, owner of Strattons, said ‘Being a winner of the Sustainability category in this year’s national Enjoy England Awards is a wonderful endorsement for the whole team at Strattons, our suppliers, our customers, the community in Swaffham and the wider Brecks area.  It is tremendous to have sustainability recognised at such prestigious awards and we would especially like to thank our staff who audit and reduce the diverse waste streams at the hotel as well as targeting reductions in all natural resources; we are so proud of the effort in maintaining landfill waste at under 2% of our total waste, and finding and building such great relationships with local suppliers whilst understanding the importance in not only investing in our fragile rural economy, but also appreciating the unique visitor experience that such actions produce.’

The Imperial War Museum, Duxford, is a Gold award winner in this year’s national Large Visitor Attraction category.  IWM Duxford is a world-renowned heritage complex with over 6 hectares of indoor and outdoor displays.  It began as an airfield in WW1 and played a vital part in WW2 as an RAF fighter station and later as an American fighter base.  Acquired by the Imperial War Museum in 1976, today Duxford is the centre for historic aviation with many of its wartime buildings remaining, such as the control tower, operations room and hangars.  Duxford is also famous for hosting world-class airshows, beautifully staged and choreographed

Richard Ashton, Director of IWM Duxford, said ‘I am absolutely delighted that we have been awarded Gold in the Large Visitor Attraction of the Year Award.  We are constantly striving to enhance the visitor experience at Duxford as well as showcase, to the best of our ability, the wonderful and amazing collection in our care.  To be recognised in this way for our commitment is a great honour and a testament to the hard work and dedication of my team - the staff, volunteers and partners at Duxford who do so much to make any visit to the Museum a memorable and enjoyable experience.’

EET's Chairman, Dr Derek Langslow, commented 'These awards are the highest accolades that the tourism industry can win.  We are delighted that the excellence of the region has been recognised and our warmest congratulations go to Richard and his team at IWM Duxford, and to Vanessa and Les and the team at Strattons.’

Director General of The Caravan Club, Trevor Watson commented: ‘We’re delighted to witness how fast standards in English tourism are rising.  As a major player, we know that quality counts and are proud to sponsor these awards, which reward the cream of English tourism.  I congratulate each and every winner for their fantastic achievement and all the hard work that this accolade represents.

East of England Tourism is delighted to announce that the region has taken two Gold awards in this year's national 'Enjoy England Awards for Excellence'.  The awards, sponsored by The Caravan Club and run by VisitBritain, were presented at a glittering ceremony held at St George’s Hall in Liverpool last night, in celebration of St George’s Day and Liverpool’s status as European Capital of Culture 2008.