23 October 2008

Northwest tourism stars honoured

19 awards handed out at regional tourism ‘Oscars’

Last night (Wednesday 22nd October) the region’s top tourism businesses and professionals gathered at Liverpool’s St George’s Hall for the fifth annual England’s Northwest Tourism Awards.

The prestigious event, organised by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and hosted by interior designer and television personality Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, has come to represent the very best of the region’s tourism industry.

A total of 19 accolades were handed out, including recognition for Liverpool 08’s role in driving up the region’s visitor economy and a new outstanding contribution to tourism award, which was presented to Cumbria’s John Dunning of Westmorland Ltd.

Each of the winners were rewarded with a gleaming trophy and the sought-after title of best in the Northwest for 2008.

The winners are:

• Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award - John Dunning, Westmorland Ltd, Cumbria
• Visitor Impact Award – Liverpool 08
• Large Hotel of the Year  - Marriott Worsley Park Hotel, Manchester
• Small Hotel of the Year – White House Manor, Cheshire
• Bed and Breakfast of the Year – Augill Castle, Cumbria
• Self-Catering Holiday of the Year  - The Beach House, Blackpool
• Holiday Park of the Year – Park Cliffe Camping and Caravan Park, Cumbria
• Large Attraction of the Year  - Manchester Art Gallery
• Small Attraction of the Year – The Quaker Tapestry Exhibition, Cumbria
• Tourism Website of the Year – Manchester Museum of Science and Industry www.mosi.org.uk
• Excellence in Business Tourism – The Rheged Centre, Cumbria
• Taste of England’s Northwest – Roses Tea Room, Merseyside
• Excellence in Customer Service – Gary Henshall - Sandcastle Waterpark, Blackpool
• Visitor Experience of the Year – Manchester International Festival
• Tourist Information Centre of the Year – Congleton TIC, Cheshire
• Excellence in Sustainable Tourism – Palace Hotel, Manchester
• Tourism for All Award - The Beacon Museum, Cumbria
• Public Space Award – Cleveleys New Wave, Lancashire
• Travel Journalist of the Year – Kevin Sampson

Ten judges commendations were also handed out on the night, in recognition of the exceptionally high standards in a number of the award categories.

The England’s Northwest Tourism Awards recognise excellence within the tourism industry and reward both group and individual achievement over the past year. Regional winners will now have the opportunity to represent the Northwest in the national Enjoy England Awards for Excellence, organised by VisitBritain, which will be held in April 2009.

Felicity Goodey, Chair of Tourism England’s Northwest, said:

“The  Northwest Tourism Awards have set a very high benchmark for the industry over the past few years, with many of our winners going on to triumph at the national awards. We know that we have some of the UK’s best tourism businesses here in the region and these awards recognise and reward the leaders in what is a highly competitive industry.

“These winners are delivering the highest quality experience for our visitors, making this region an increasingly popular visitor destination. More than 30 million visitors stay with us each year, contributing £11½ billion to the Northwest economy.  It is important that we maintain these standards if we want to remain ahead of the game.”

-ends-

Notes to editors

Finalists in the England’s Northwest Tourism Awards are winners from each of the sub-regional tourism awards.

England’s Northwest Tourism Awards 2008 Finalists:

Large Hotel of the Year

Marriott Worsley Park Hotel and Country Club, Manchester (Winner)
Cottons Hotel and Spa, Knutsford
Macdonald Old England Hotel and Spa, Windermere
Big Blue Hotel, Blackpool
Marriott Liverpool City Centre Hotel

Small Hotel of the Year

White House Manor, near Macclesfield (Winner)
Appleby Manor, Appleby
The Shireburn Arms Hotel, Clitheroe

Bed and Breakfast of the Year

Augill Castle, Kirkby Stephen (Winner)
Number One, South Beach, Blackpool (Highly Commended)
Moss Lodge, Rochdale
42 Caldy Road, West Kirby
Sand Hollow Farm, Burwardsley

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year

Manchester Art Gallery (Winner)
Ness Botanic Gardens, Neston
South Lakes Wild Animal Park, Dalton in Furness
Sandcastle Waterpark, Blackpool

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year

The Quaker Tapestry Exhibition, Kendal (Winner)
Cotebrook Shire Horse Centre, Cotebrook
Farmer Ted’s Farm Park, Ormskirk
Smithills Hall, Bolton
Mersey Ferries Manchester Ship Canal Cruises

Self Catering Holiday of the Year

The Beach House, Blackpool (Winner)
Staying Cool, Manchester (Highly Commended)
Premier Apartments, Liverpool
Mellow Brook Cottage at Harrop Fold Farm, Macclesfield
The Lodge Holiday Cottage, Hayton

Holiday Park of the Year

Park Cliffe Camping and Caravan Park, Windermere (Winner)
Newton Hall Holiday Park, Blackpool
Manor Wood Country Caravan Park, Coddington

Tourism Website of the Year

Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester (Winner)
English in Chester
Windermere Lodge
Ribby Hall Village
Acorn Farm, Knowsley 

Excellence in Business Tourism

The Rheged Centre, Penrith (Winner)
Park Royal Hotel, Warrington (Highly Commended)
Barton Grange Hotel, Preston
Manchester United
The Conference Centre at LACE, Liverpool

Taste of England’s Northwest

Roses Tea Room, Heswall (Winner)
The Hollies Farm Shop, Cheshire (Highly Commended)
The Village Bakery Melmerby
Northcote Manor, Langho
Isinglass Restaurant, Urmston

Tourism Experience of the Year

Manchester International Festival (Winner)
Tate Liverpool - Turner Prize (Highly Commended)
Shacklabank Free Range Walking, Sedbergh (Highly Commended)
Byways Breaks, Cheshire
Downy Duckling Experience, WWT Martin Mere
Lancashire Food festival, Accrington
Cholmondeley Fireworks Concert and Garden Party

Excellence in Customer Service

Gary Henshall - Sandcastle Waterpark, Blackpool (Winner)
Julie Lyons – De Vere Carden Park Hotel, Chester
Daniel Fairweather, Windermere Marina Village
Pam Simpson – World of Glass, St Helens
Madge Butler - Crowne Plaza Manchester Airport

Public Space Award

Cleveleys New Wave (Winner)
West End Gardens Morecambe
Gateway to The Open Championship, Wirral
Focal Point - St Helens Town Centre
Windermere Enhancement Scheme

Sustainable Tourism Award

Palace Hotel, Manchester (Winner)
Cote How Organic Guest House, Rydal (Highly Commended)
RSPB Leighton Moss Nature Reserve, Silverdale
Carden Park Hotel, Chester

Tourism for All Award

The Beacon Museum, Whitehaven (Winner)
The Trafford Centre, Manchester (Highly Commended)
Wyre Estuary Country Park
The National Wildflower Centre, Knowsley

Tourist Information Centre of the Year

Congleton TIC (Winner)
Fleetwood TIC (Highly Commended)
Manchester Visitor Centre
St.Helens TIC
Keswick TIC

Travel Journalist of the Year

Kevin Sampson (Winner)
Nigel Tisdall (Highly Commended)
Stephen McClarence
David Atkinson
Kate Simon

Outstanding Contribution to Tourism in England’s Northwest
John Dunning, Westmorland Ltd

Visitor Impact Award
Liverpool, European Capital of Culture 2008

For further information please contact Helen Batte, Tourism Press Officer on 01925 400235 or 07764 239856 or Helen.Batte@nwda.co.uk

For urgent out of hours press enquiries please call 01925 400259.

For further information and to view previous press releases visit us at www.nwda.co.uk  

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) leads the economic development and regeneration of England's Northwest and is responsible for:

• Supporting business growth and encouraging investment
• Matching skills provision to employer needs
• Creating the conditions for economic growth
• Connecting the region through effective transport and communication infrastructure
• Promoting the region’s outstanding quality of life