We spoke to Florence Wallace, head of travel trade at the Great West Way® / VisitWiltshire, to find out more about her work and how it felt to be nominated for the 2024 Excellence Award.
How did it feel when you found out you had been shortlisted as a finalist for The Excellence Award?
I was a bit surprised. When I found out I couldn’t believe it and found it all very surprising. I was really delighted though as I’ve been around for a few years, and people tend to see me at different exhibitions and events over the years, so it’s nice that I was remembered!
What was the reaction from your colleagues?
I received emails from our official tour operators who I’m in touch with regularly about developing new programmes. They would let me know they had voted for me to win which was really nice. It’s a really memorable thing to be nominated for an award like this, and it’s good that people take the time to nominate and vote because it makes it even more special.
“I’m very grateful to the people who voted for me and would like to thank them. It’s been amazing.”
How did you find the GLT Awards ceremony?
It was a good night and it was lovely to be able to shout about the fact that I had made it through as a finalist before the event. On the night I saw Marcia from RHS, one of the other Excellence Award finalists, and it was nice to give each other a hug and say that we’d both be really happy if either of us won.
What’s the best part of your job?
The variety of it and being able to help promote the huge amount of amazing attractions we have in Wiltshire and along the Great West Way® - the history and heritage in our area is amazing. People travel from all over to see some of the the heritage attractions we’ve got here, and we also have fabulous accommodation from campsites and glamping through to luxury hotels, plus other experiences.
If pushed, what would you say are the must-see visits for groups?
I mean that is a tough one as there is so much to see in Wiltshire, but I would go for Longleat, Bowood House and Gardens, English Heritage’s Stonehenge and not forgetting Salisbury Cathedral which has the tallest church spire in England!
In terms of the Great West Way®, which is a stunning tourism route from London to Bristol, Richmond is packed with amazing places to visit. One of my favourites is Marble Hill House along the east end of the route. It’s a beautiful Georgian house which sits along the Thames and is full of treasures.
How challenging is it to juggle your workload?
It is tough, especially when events overlap and you can’t be in two places at once. However, we do have a great team and we all support each other so nobody is ever overloaded.
There are masses of products in our area that we’re engaging with all the time to try and help them understand how big the travel trade is, so that’s always a bit of a challenge, but I don’t dislike any of it. It’s a really fun role with lots of different tasks.
What would you like say to the people who voted for you?
I’d like to send my thanks and continue working with them to help them as much as I can. I want to urge group organisers to get in touch, even if it’s just for a chat! I remember someone rang me once just to say that I had written an amazing resource for them to use. It wasn’t that they wanted anything in particular, but they were just thanking me for putting the time in for them.
I’m very grateful to the people who voted for me and would like to thank them. It has been amazing.
Florence was a finalist for The Excellence Award in 2024, which is presented as part of the Group Leisure & Travel Awards. You can find out more about it at groupleisureandtravel.com/excellence.
