North East England Tourism Awards 2009 - Winners Announced

16th October 2009

The region’s best tourism businesses were honoured last night (THURS) at the 2009 North East England Tourism Awards, held at The Hilton, NewcastleGateshead.

Winners were announced in 15 categories at the prestigious awards including the BUPA Great North Run, (Best Tourism Event); Doxford Cottages, near Alnwick, Northumberland, (Self-Catering of the Year); Gisborough Hall Hotel, Guisborough, Tees Valley, (Large Hotel of the Year) and Headlam Hall Hotel, Darlington (Small Hotel of the Year).

The awards, organised by Regional Development Agency One North East, rewarded the leading individuals, businesses and attractions that are contributing to the region’s thriving tourism industry, which is worth almost £4bn to the region’s economy.

The full list of GOLD winners honoured last night is:

Access for All Tourism Award
North Music Trust (Sage Gateshead), Tyne & Wear

Bed and Breakfast/Guest Accommodation of the Year
The Old School, near Alnwick, Northumberland

Best Tourism Experience
Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Tyne & Wear

Business Tourism Award of the Year
Sunderland Football Club, Tyne & Wear

Caravan/Holiday Park of the Year
Seafield Caravan Park, Seahouses, Northumberland

Large Hotel of the Year
Gisborough Hall Hotel, Guisborough, Tees Valley

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year
Hartlepool Maritime Experience, Tees Valley

Outstanding Customer Service Award
Stuart Buglass, Marriott Gosforth Park Hotel

Self Catering/Serviced Apartment of the Year
Doxford Cottage, near Alnwick, Northumberland

Small Hotel of the Year
Headlam Hall Hotel, Darlington, County Durham

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year
WWT Washington Wetland Centre, Tyne & Wear

Sustainable Tourism Award
Hunting Hall, Beal, Northumberland

Taste of North East England
Archer’s Jersey Ice Cream, Tees Valley

Tourism Event of the Year
Bupa Great North Run

Tourist Information Centre of the Year
Peterlee Tourist Information Centre, County Durham

Alan Clarke, Chief Executive of One North East said: “I would like to congratulate all the winners on their success. The standard and number of entries to this year’s awards was incredibly high and all the finalists should be very proud of their achievements.

“2009 has been a challenging year for the region’s economy, but the tourism industry has continued to see a growth with occupancy levels at many of the region’s accommodation providers showing an increase on last year.

“And with continued private and public investment in tourism, the region can offer visitors an exciting and unique choice of things to do and places to stay.”

The awards showcase quality, performance and innovation within the tourism sector and recognise excellence in a number of tourism fields. They are free to enter and enable businesses to analyse their strengths and weaknesses, with judges looking for excellence in categories including customer care, staff training and accessibility.

Geoff Hodgson, chairman of the North East Tourism Advisory Board, who presented the awards last night, said: “This year’s winners showcase the quality and diversity of tourism businesses we have in the region and are a great example of excellence.

“They will now go on to represent the North East England at the National tourism awards next year, where the region has achieved great success previously. We hope this will also be inspiration for other business to enter the awards next year and take advantage of the fantastic rewards they bring.”

Two winners from the 2008 North East England Tourism Awards went on to win GOLD at the National Enjoy England Awards for Excellence. The Old School, B&B in Newton-on-the-Moor, near Alnwick, won Best Tourism Website of the Year and The Hytte self-catering cottage, near Hexham, won in the Access for All category.