Destination Worcestershire, the destination marketing partnership for Worcestershire, has partnered with Oxygen8 Communications to provide a text messaging service for its ‘Worcestershire Welcome’ awards.

Destination Worcestershire currently has approximately 140 members which include local attractions and accommodation providers throughout Worcestershire, such as Bed and Breakfasts, Guest Houses and Hotels.

The awards highlight the best attractions and accommodation that the county has to offer visitors, in a bid to encourage more tourists to visit Worcestershire. They aim to present the county as an ideal location for short breaks and holidays.

“The initial stage of the awards is to ask the public to nominate the businesses they would like to honour, and this is where the SMS service that Oxygen8 provides comes in,” says Destination Worcestershire manager, Simon Tipple. “Visitors are able to text their nominations to Destination Worcestershire as an additional form of voting. This is the first year we have included SMS voting and we have found that by offering this service, more people have been encouraged to vote. The cost was very reasonable and the software was easy to implement. We found the SMS service very effective  and it is certainly something we would look to do again next year.”