Top tourism awards announced |
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Top tourism awards announced Tourism bosses in Telford and Shropshire are celebrating after the county scooped five prestigious regional awards. The glittering success at this year's Heart of England Excellence Awards reflects the area's growing reputation as a tourism destination that can compete with the very best. And now three of the county winners will go forward to the National Visit England Tourism Awards in 2010. Shropshire winners at the ceremony held at the ICC in Birmingham were: Best Convention Bureau: Telford & Shropshire Conferences Best Bar/Inn: The Armoury, Shrewsbury Best Large Attraction: Blists Hill Victorian Town Best Exhibition Space: RAF Museum Cosford (Silver Award) Best One-off or Annual Event: Ludlow Food and Drink Festival (Silver Award) Katie Foster, who is the Chairman of the Tourism Destination Management Partnership for Shropshire and Telford, said the ceremony had been a wonderful evening. "It's a fantastic achievement for everyone involved in tourism in the county, and to bring home five awards is just brilliant. The judges said they were impressed with the passionate and committed approach shown by all the Shropshire entries, and clearly we are recognised as a credible destination on a national and international scale." Katie said she was particularly pleased with the success of the team at Telford & Shropshire Conferences on the night - they were given a joint gold award in the Best Convention Bureau category alongside Marketing Birmingham, as the judges wanted to recognise the achievements of both organisations in business and events tourism. "Just to be in the running against such renowned destinations as Birmingham and Warwick was a massive achievement, and it shows we are definitely punching above our weight in terms of competing in a difficult market." Sarah Bird, Business Tourism Manager for Telford & Shropshire Conferences, said: "This has been a great year for us, and for our members. We are now handling bigger event bids than ever before, some of which involve up to 4,000 delegates, and without the crucial funding we have received from Advantage West Midlands, we would never have been in a position to operate at such a level." Backed by Transforming Telford, Telford & Wrekin Council, and Advantage West Midlands, the team at Telford & Shropshire Conferences offers support to organisers of the 5,000 events which come to the area every year, and which generate over £95 million for the local economy. To find out more about Telford & Shropshire Conferences visit www.telford-shropshire.com or call 01952 567567. |
