Tourism award for Vale marketing group

A successful group which promotes tourism in the Vale of Glamorgan has been recognised with a leading regional business award.

The Vale Marketing Group, a marketing initiative set up in 2002 to promote the Vale of Glamorgan as a quality visitor destination, took the title of Retail or Tourism Business of the Year 2009 at this year’s South Wales Business Awards, hosted by the BBC’s Sara Edwards earlier this month at the Bear Hotel in Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan.

Beating off competition from five other South Wales businesses including Edwards Travel, Pro Air Aviation and Sea View Chalet, the Vale Marketing Group (VMG) was recognised with the award which looked at the organisation’s commitment to customer service and success against its business plan and objectives.

Collecting the award, VMG chairperson, Mandy Davies, said the award recognised the hard work of a dedicated committee. She said: "The Retail and Tourism Business category is keenly contested and we are delighted to have won. It is a recognition of the important role of the support sector in the business community and shows what can be achieved when like-minded people come together with a common goal.

"We will build on our new status as South Wales Retail and Tourism Business 2009 and use the increased profile to demonstrate the quality of the tourism businesses we represent across the Vale of Glamorgan."

The South Wales Business Awards organiser, Wesley Skene of WS Marketing, said: "The judging process for the Retail and Tourism Business category was extremely difficult and, there was significant debate among the judges, the Vale Marketing group was seen as a clear winner by the panel."

See more about the Vale Marketing Group at www.gardenofcardiff.com.

Photograph by opobs @ Welsh Icons Flickr group.