Awards

With spectacular beaches, fantastic views, historic gardens and a bustling town centre there’s no shortage of reasons to love Bournemouth… but if you do need more convincing, here’s a string of titles and awards, making us one of the UK’s most celebrated destinations.

Bournemouth has been ranked as the NUMBER ONE beach in the UK by TripAdvisor 2024. Among the many voters comments,  praising the golden sand, brilliant walks, cleanliness and stunning views, was this from visitor Daisy700 that sums it up perfectly - 'Couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. Honestly felt like being abroad. Nice clean sand, clear blue skies and blue water'.

If that wasn't enough, it also ranks amongst some of the best beaches in Europe, ranked 20th in 2024 Travellers' Choice Best of the Best Awards for Beaches.  

Awards & Accreditations 

The iconic Blue Flag is an international award presented to well-managed beaches with excellent water quality and environmental education programmes.

The Blue Flag Awards for 2024:

• Alum Chine beach, Durley Chine beach, Fisherman’s Walk beach, Southbourne beach, Branksome Chine, Canford Cliffs, Shore Road, Sandbanks, Friars Cliff, Avon Beach, Highcliffe and Manor Steps. 

Read all about the news and list of sponsors in the press release.

Blue Flag campaign sponsors

Seaside Awards are presented to the best beaches in England and celebrate the quality and diversity of our coastline.

• Bournemouth Pier
• Boscombe Pier
• Alum Chine
• Bournemouth Manor Steps
• Durley Chine
• Southbourne
• Fisherman’s Walk
• Branksome Chine
• Canford Cliffs
• Shore Rd
• Sandbanks
• Avon Beach
• Friar’s Cliff Beach
• Highcliffe Beach

Bournemouth named UK’s most Family Friendly Destination 2020

Our beloved beautiful Bournemouth beach has been named the UK’s most Family Friendly Destination for 2020. The national contest, run by HomeAway, saw votes from more than 3,000 members of the British public in their online competition in June.

Bournemouth received 30 per cent of the votes for the seaside category, beating off competition from Sennen Cove in Cornwall (27 per cent), Torquay in Devon (18 per cent) and Scarborough in North Yorkshire (12 per cent).

Clean, sandy beaches with a “friendly and vibrant” feel is how voters described our Dorset-based beach, home to several Blue Flag award-winning stretches.

Plus we're thrilled that TimeOut mentioned our 'picture-perfect coastlines' in an article for Dorset - naming it as 7th in 'The 15 best places to visit in the UK in 2023'!

Avon Beach also deserves a special mention. This beautiful beach consistently gets great reviews and won Tripadvisor's Travellers' Choice award 2022!