Local tourist attractions short-listed for regional awards

14th April 2010

Three of the Borough’s top visitor attractions have been short-listed for The Mersey Partnership (TMP) Tourism Awards 2010.

Haydock Park Racecourse, the iconic 20 metre high Dream sculpture by Jaume Plensa, and Houghwood Golf Club’s Elaine Tabern have all gained recognition in the annual awards that celebrate the very best in quality and excellence in the Liverpool City Region’s Visitor Economy.

The prestigious awards ceremony, organised by TMP, the official Tourist Board for Liverpool City Region will take place on Thursday, 10 June, at the BT Convention Centre, Liverpool. The short-listed nominees were selected by independent specialist judges who reviewed the achievements of more than 100 entrants from a wide variety of large and small tourism businesses across the region.

Haydock Park Racecourse, the UK’s most visited racecourse, is in the running in the Business Tourism category on the strength of its conference facilities. Hot on the heels of its twin Civic Trust awards, Dream has gained a nomination for Best Tourism Experience. Meanwhile Elaine Tabern is short-listed for the Excellence in Customer Service award having won that category at St.Helens’ own tourism awards earlier this year.

Bob Hepworth, Director of Urban Regeneration and Housing at St.Helens Council, stated: “We are delighted that three of the Borough’s day visitor attractions have been short-listed for the TMP tourism awards. It is a reflection of the quality, innovation and strength of our visitor economy and recognises the hard work and commitment to excellence of the St.Helens tourism industry. The awards set the benchmark for others to follow and I very much hope our attractions amongst the winners.”

A total of 15 awards will be presented at the ceremony, in front of a gathering of 500 guests. Winners of the TMP awards will automatically go through to the England’s Northwest Tourism Awards organised by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) later this year, and the chance to represent the region in the national finals.

The awards are supported by the NWDA, Merseytravel, Liverpool ONE, ACC Liverpool and BBC Radio Merseyside.

END