Entries for the inaugural Holiday Park Awards open this September, creating a new independent platform to recognise excellence, share best practice and bring the sector together.
By Melanie Brook MCIM, Founder of the Holiday Park Awards
The UK holiday park industry has plenty to be proud of. Independent and family-owned parks sit alongside larger groups, supported by specialist suppliers, advisers and service providers. Together, they create memorable holidays, careers and significant value for local communities.
Much of the work behind that success happens quietly. Teams solve problems, improve guest experiences, invest in their parks and raise standards every day, often without recognition beyond their own businesses. The Holiday Park Awards has been created to change that.
Launching this autumn, the new awards programme will provide an independent platform dedicated specifically to the UK holiday park sector. Its purpose is straightforward: to celebrate excellence, encourage the sharing of good practice and strengthen connections across an industry built on long-term relationships and trust.
Recognition with a wider purpose
The awards are designed to recognise the people, parks, teams and businesses making a positive difference across the sector. That includes the achievements visitors see, such as exceptional customer experiences and high-quality facilities, as well as the less visible work taking place behind the scenes in leadership, marketing, operations, sustainability, accessibility and team development.
The ambition extends beyond one evening. The Holiday Park Awards will become the flagship of a year-round platform focused on three ideas: celebrate, educate and collaborate. Recognition matters, but so do opportunities for operators and suppliers to learn from one another, build relationships and support the sector’s development.
Independence will sit at the heart of the programme. In an increasingly competitive market, and at a time when the reputation of the wider sector can sometimes be affected by the actions of a minority, credible recognition has real value. The awards will highlight businesses that are investing in their customers, their teams and their communities, while encouraging the transparency and high standards that help build public confidence.
The idea grew from conversations with people working across the industry. Again and again, the same themes emerged: operators wanted recognition that understood the particular realities of running a holiday park, suppliers wanted meaningful ways to support their customers, and teams deserved an opportunity to see their work celebrated on a national stage. That feedback has helped shape a programme rooted in the sector itself, rather than one borrowed from wider hospitality.
Key dates for the inaugural awards
Entries will officially open on 22 September 2026, giving holiday parks and industry businesses the opportunity to put forward their achievements from the past year. Entries will close on 20 November 2026.
Judging will take place throughout December 2026 and January 2027, followed by final deliberations. Finalists will be announced in mid-February 2027.
The programme will culminate in the inaugural Holiday Park Awards ceremony at Sandy Park in Exeter on 22 April 2027. The evening will bring together park owners, operators, managers, teams and suppliers from across the country for a celebration of the people and organisations moving the industry forward.
Businesses considering an entry can start preparing now, well ahead of September: identify the strongest story, gather evidence and results, and speak to the team members who delivered them. The most compelling entries are rarely those with the biggest budgets; they clearly explain the challenge, the action taken and the difference it made.
An opportunity for the whole industry
The strength of any awards programme depends on the breadth of the industry it represents. For that reason, the Holiday Park Awards is being developed to feel relevant and accessible to businesses of different sizes, from long-established family parks to growing groups and specialist suppliers. Excellence can look very different from one organisation to another, and the programme aims to recognise progress, innovation and impact in context.
It is also an opportunity to bring together a sector that is geographically dispersed but closely connected. The awards night will create space to celebrate with colleagues, meet new contacts and strengthen existing partnerships. For finalists, it will offer valuable third-party recognition that can be shared with teams, customers and local communities. For the wider industry, it will create a growing bank of positive stories that demonstrate the quality, resilience and ambition found throughout the holiday park sector.
A robust judging process will be essential to earning that confidence. Entries will be assessed against clear criteria by judges with relevant experience, with the December and January timetable allowing proper consideration before the finalists are agreed. Sponsors will help make the programme possible, but commercial involvement will remain separate from judging decisions.
Sponsorship opportunities remain available
The programme is already supported by a growing group of industry partners, reflecting strong confidence in the need for dedicated, independent recognition. Headline sponsor Parks in Video is joined by Holidaymaker App, Pitched, Metpow, HPL Recruitment, ParklinkSupply Parks, Holistic Thinking Holidays, Ruth Badger Consultancy, ParcVu Booking Experts and Walter Geering.
A limited number of sponsorship opportunities are still available for businesses that want to align their brand with excellence in the sector and play an active role in establishing the awards from the beginning.
For suppliers and professional service businesses, becoming involved in the inaugural year offers a chance to support the industry, celebrate customers and colleagues, and be part of a new platform as it grows. Organisations interested in the remaining opportunities are encouraged to make contact early, as availability across the sponsorship levels is limited.
A celebration the sector can share
The first Holiday Park Awards will mark an important milestone, but the longer-term goal is broader: to build a trusted platform that helps the industry grow, connect, learn and celebrate success. The UK holiday park sector is full of people doing remarkable work, and their stories deserve to be seen.
From 22 September, those stories can begin to take centre stage.
Find out more: holidayparkawards.co.uk
