The region’s best tourism businesses were honoured this week at the North East England Tourism Awards 2010, with NewcastleGateshead and Tyne and Wear scooping 13 awards.
Winners were revealed in 15 categories at the annual awards ceremony, held at Ramside Hall in Durham, which included Gold awards for Colman’s of South Shields in the Taste of North East England Award, Hilton Newcastle Gateshead in the Large Hotel of the Year category, and Illuminating Hadrian’s Wall in the Tourism Event of the Year category.
Sarah Stewart, Interim Chief Executive of NewcastleGateshead Initiative said, “The event was a fitting celebration of all the hard work delivered by tourism businesses in the region.
“Tourism in Tyne and Wear is worth an impressive £2.03bn, more than half the total value for North East England. Businesses, large and small, across NewcastleGateshead and Tyne and Wear did very well at the awards and we were encouraged to see eight NewcastleGateshead Initiative members’ pick-up accolades.
“It’s been a tough year for the tourism industry but it’s wonderful to see so many businesses striving for excellence and celebrating their achievements in such a positive way; a big well done to all of the winners and good luck to Tyne and Wear’s three Gold winners in the national Enjoy England Awards for Excellence in April.”
Businesses in Tyne and Wear won the following accolades:
• Access for all Tourism Award – Great North Museum Bronze
• Best Tourism Experience – WWWT Washington Wetland Centre Silver
• Business Tourism Award of the Year – Hilton Newcastle Gateshead Silver
• Large Hotel of the Year – Hilton Newcastle Gateshead Gold, Marriott Gosforth Park Bronze
• Large Visitor Attraction of the Year – Great North Museum Silver
• Sustainable Tourism Award – Jury’s Inn Newcastle Silver
• Taste of North East England Award – Colman’s of South Shields Gold
• Tourism Event of the Year – Illuminating Hadrian’s Wall Gold, AV Festival 2010 Silver, Mouth of the Tyne Festival Bronze
Tyne and Wear Museums (Great North Museum), Hilton Newcastle Gateshead, Marriott Gosforth Park and Jury’s Inn Newcastle are all members of NewcastleGateshead Initiative, other NewcastleGateshead Initiative member winners across North East England are:
• Business Tourism Award for the Year – Rockliffe Hall , Tees Valley Gold
• Outstanding Customer Service Award – Lucy McEnaney, Durham University – Event Durham Gold, Jakki Kelly, Seaham Hall Hotel & Meghan Edy, Rockliffe Hall joint Silver
• Small Hotel of the Year – Langley Castle, Hexham Gold, Seaham Hall Hotel Silver
• Small Visitor Attraction of the Year – Botanic Garden, Durham University Silver
• Taste of North East England Award – Kenny Atkinson at the Orangery, Rockliffe Hall Silver
The awards, organised by Regional Development Agency One North East, celebrate individuals, businesses and attractions who contribute to the region’s thriving tourism industry, which is worth almost £4bn to North East’s economy.
Geoff Hodgson, Chairman of the North East Tourism Advisory Board, who presented the winners with their awards, said: “I would like to congratulate all of the winners on their success. The standard of entries this year was incredibly high and it was good to see so many new businesses entering for the first time.
“The last 12 months have been a challenging time for everyone. However, the region’s tourism industry has continued to grow and is now worth almost £4bn to the North East’s economy.
“All the finalists this year demonstrate the fantastic quality and diversity we have in the region and are a great example of excellence.
“We wish them all well for the national awards next year and hope that their success inspires others to strive for the best.”
All the GOLD winners will now go on to represent the region at the national Enjoy England Awards for Excellence which will be held on Friday 15th April 2011 at The Great Hall at Birmingham University.
ENDS
Media Contact:
Shelley Ann Staines, Media and PR Manager – Destination & Business
Shelley.staines@ngi.org.uk 0191 440 5739/0771 763 1109
Notes to Editors:
NewcastleGateshead Initiative is the destination marketing agency for NewcastleGateshead. Its mission is to position and promote NewcastleGateshead as a leading European destination for leisure and business visitors through cultural programming, event bidding and high-profile, targeted destination marketing and PR activity. Created in 2000 by Newcastle City Council and Gateshead Council as a publicly and privately funded business, the company has developed a strong brand for the area – promoting it nationally and internationally as a place at the forefront of innovative culture-led regeneration and a world-class place to live, learn, work and visit.
Tourism Tyne & Wear is the Area Tourism Partnership for Tyne and Wear. The partnership is made up of key stakeholders involved in delivering, developing and promoting the visitor experience in Tyne & Wear and is supported by Newcastle City Council, Gateshead Council, Sunderland City Council, South Tyneside Council and North Tyneside Council, and NewcastleGateshead Initiative. Tourism Tyne & Wear is a key partner in the Tourism Network North East, along with the ATPs in Durham, Northumberland and Tees Valley and the tourism team based within One North East.
Press releases and copyright-free hi-res images on NewcastleGateshead are available from our website www.newcastlegateshead.com