The curator of Coventry’s Music Museum has won a major tourism award

Coventry Music Museum curator Pete Chambers has been awarded the coveted Visit England Tourism Superstar Award on the back of a successful year for the city’s attraction. After being named the winner earlier this year, this month it collected the national award at The Visit Britain Awards for Excellence.

Chambers was nominated for the award by Destination Coventry, the city’s destination management organisation, which is part of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Visitor Economy Partnership.

He collected his Visit England Tourism Superstar trophy in Liverpool to the sound of The Specials.

At the ceremony, Chambers was recognized for the exceptional hospitality and personalized experiences it offers visitors, such as a special package for an autistic music fan.

The museum has doubled its numbers in the past year as the city’s musical heritage has returned to the spotlight. The museum, which opened in 2013, the launch of new exhibitions and the national success of the BBC drama ‘This Town’ brought the city’s music back to the national stage.

The museum, which is in the heart of 2-Tone Village, celebrates the history and heritage of music in Coventry and Chambers said it had seen a clear increase in visitor numbers over the past year.

“We have seen an increase in the number of domestic visitors, with the number of overseas visitors remaining constant and I believe this can be attributed to the national success of this city.”

Visitors to Coventry Music Museum will see the trophy take pride of place on arrival at the museum.

“I put the award in a cabinet at the museum and many visitors asked me about it. People are certainly aware that we have won it and it has certainly raised the profile of the museum positively.

“It was fantastic to represent our city at the ceremony, it was an amazing night and really brought home what we have achieved at the museum over the last decade with a team of dedicated volunteers.

“We had the chance to speak to people from all over the UK on the night who didn’t know about our museum and they promised to come to Coventry to check us out. For me to represent Coventry was the most wonderful part of the night.”

Senior destination manager at Destination Coventry, Claire England said Pete was a “brilliant ambassador for the city”.

“Pete is a passionate person who deserves all his success. It is fantastic news that the national profile from VisitEngland and This Town award is helping to bring more people to the museum.

“We encourage anyone planning a visit to Coventry to make sure the Coventry Music Museum is on their itinerary.”