An independent survey  commissioned by VisitBritain, the authority for tourism in England, reveals that Britons are enjoying a high level of customer service when visiting hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions in their home country.  Over 50 per cent of those surveyed believe that Britain offers either the same quality of service or a better service than the rest of Europe.  

A breakdown of the statistics show that 35 per cent of respondents believe customer service in England offers the same level of service as Europe and 18 per cent think that the quality of service is better.

The results of the survey coincide with the launch of the Excellence in England Awards 2004.  There are eleven awards, one of which is the Outstanding Customer Service Award, and this relies totally on nominations from the British public.  

"In recent years there has been a huge improvement of customer service standards throughout the British tourism industry, and it is gratifying that half of the public thinks we are now at least as good as the rest of Europe," says Jo Leslie, Head of Press and PR, VisitBritain.

"What we need to do now is work on the other 50 per cent. By encouraging people to tell us which establishments they consider to be outstanding, we can use these to set examples for the rest of the industry. Our aim is to be better than anywhere else in Europe, "continues Jo Leslie.

Other Award categories include:  Bed & Breakfast of the Year, Caravan Park of the Year, Large Hotel of the Year (over 50 bedrooms), Self Catering Holiday of the Year, Small Hotel of the Year (under 60 bedrooms), Tourist Information Centre (TIC) of the Year, Visitor Attraction of the Year (over 100,000 visitors) and Visitor Attraction of the Year, (under 100,000 visitors), Best Tourism Website and Most Accessible Tourism Product (a new category for the 2004 Awards).

The shortlist for the Excellence in England Awards 2004 will be announced in February and the winners are announced at an awards ceremony in London on the 22 April 2004.