Newcastle’s Seven Stories receives national recognition following business model pivot

Following a shift to a free entry business model, national recognition scheme VisitEngland has awarded Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children’s Books, a VisitEngland Best Told Story Accolade in recognition of its “outstanding visitor experience and high standards”.

The Visitor Attraction Accolades seeks to highlight the “quality and diversity” of visitor experiences on offer across the country. The winning attractions have gained the accolades based on scores received following their annual VisitEngland Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme assessments.

Marks were allocated to the 97 attractions for the outstanding experiences they provide to visitors across categories including Welcome, Best Told Story, Quality Food & Drink, Hidden Gem and Gold for overall Winners.

VisitEngland director Andrew Stokes commented: “It’s so exciting to see our brilliant attractions providing outstanding experiences for visitors and to recognise and showcase the variety and quality across the country.

“England has unmissable visitor attractions and experiences that deliver world-class customer service. They also provide the warmest of welcomes and unforgettable storytelling that connects the whole experience, including retail and food and drink offers that exceed expectations.”

Wendy Elliott, CEO, added: “What a fitting award to receive – thank you so much to VisitEngland for their continued support. We are so grateful to everyone who has supported us during the last few years as we changed our business model, removing the entrance fee to the museum earlier this year and making us even more accessible and family-friendly.

“We are trialling new things and making improvements all the time in response to feedback and to receive this award is testament to the team’s hard work and dedication to providing excellent visitor experiences every day.

“We hope to welcome many visitors from the region over the coming months as we trial opening later to provide a warm, free space in the city1, and provide a wide range of events and experiences to entertain and inspire all ages – including the grown-ups.

“The free galleries have new additions to discover, the bookshop will be full of Christmas gift inspiration and we have even more exciting events to announce in the next few weeks!”

By Matthew Neville – Correspondent, Bdaily

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