Fylde coast hopefuls in tourism competition

And the Fylde coast features strongly in the 2017 Lancashire Tourism Awards with 27 candidates having made it through to the finals which will be held at the Tower Ballroom on November 9.

Among the coast contenders for the 21 categories are Blackpool Zoo, Sandcastle Waterpark and Viva Blackpool in the Large Visitor Attraction Award; Freeport Fleetwood in the Retail Experience Award; The Elgin Hotel, Blackpool, and The Spa Hotel, Ribby Hall Village, Wrea Green in the Large Hotel Award; the Winter Gardens in the Business Tourism Provider Award; Lytham Hall Open Air Theatre in the Small Tourism Event Award; LightPool Festival, Blackpool and the Lytham 1940s Wartime Weekend in the Large Tourism Event Award.

Alice's Tearoom,St Annes features in the Lancashire Café/Tearoom Award finals; Breck Apartments, Poulton, Newton Hall Holiday Park, Blackpool, Queens Mansions, Blackpool and Sunset Park Holiday Village, Poulton, all in the Self-Catering Holiday Award; Blackpool Ghost Walks in the Visitor Experience Award; Ascent Trampoline Park, Blackpool, and the The Oxfordshire Hotel, Blackpool, in the New Business Award.

Ribby Hall Village, Wrea Green, is among the finalists in the Wedding Venue Award; Twelve Restaurant and Lounge Bar, Thornton and The Villa Wrea Green are in the Taste Lancashire Award; The Cartford Inn, Little Eccleston is in the Lancashire Pub/Inn Award finals; the Sandcastle Waterpark, Blackpool in the Inclusive Tourism Award; Lytham St Annes Spitfire Ground Display Team and the Winter Gardens are in the Culture and Heritage Award finals; and the Kings Hotel, Blackpool, and The Villa Wrea Green are in the Small Hotel Award final.

Last year, the coast picked up six awards, with Leye D Johns from Viva Blackpool winning the top honour of Tourism Superstar

Ruth Connor, Chief Executive of Marketing Lancashire said, “The response to this year’s Lancashire Tourism Awards has been outstanding, testament to the quality and variety of tourism experiences and exceptional hospitality businesses on offer to the 67 million visitors now enjoying short breaks and holidays each year in Lancashire.

“The tourism industry is vital to the economic health of the county and deserves a dedicated event that rewards and celebrates everyone who contributes to the success of Lancashire’s thriving £4.13bn visitor economy.

“Those who have reached this stage of the competition are to be congratulated, as applications increase each year and the field of competition grows. We wish all the finalists the very best of luck and look forward to sharing their success, with the support of colleagues across the industry, at a spectacular event in the country’s most famous ballroom, in the UK’s favourite seaside resort, Blackpool.”

Finalists of the Lancashire Tourism Awards 2017 will now be invited to an interview with the judges on Wednesday and Thursday, October 18 and 19 at Northcote at the Rovers, Blackburn.

During this process each finalist will have the opportunity to discuss their application in more detail with the judging panels; each judging panel brings a wealth of experience and knowledge of business, hospitality and the visitor economy to the awards.

Lancashire’s Tourism Superstar Award 2017 shortlist will be announced next week and the public will be invited to vote for their ultimate Lancashire winner. The winner of the Lancashire Tourism Superstar Award is the only award to be chosen by the public.

The event is supported by: University of Central Lancashire – Headline Sponsor, VisitBlackpool, Blackpool and the Fylde College, Creative-Counsil, DFC, Jones Harris Chartered Accountants, Heart FM, Huddle Media, Lancashire Business View, Lancashire Life, Lancashire Post, Napthens, Nelson Town Council, Northcote at the Rovers, Northern Print Distribution, Peter Scott Printers, Quality in Tourism and Total Foodservice