The 2012 award for ‘Business Tourism’ at the Manchester Tourism Awards was won this year by Manchester Central, the city’s flagship conference venue.
Judges praised Manchester for anticipating its customers’ needs and for engaging in a comprehensive taxi driver education programme to allow them to welcome all conference delegates to the city.
The John Rylands Library on Deansgate was named the ‘Large Visitor Attraction of the Year’ at the city’s annual tourism awards, held 7 November at The Lowry in Salford Quays.
Ordsall Hall in Salford was praised for its interactive elements and took home the ‘Small Visitor Attraction’ award.
The Lowry Hotel walked away with the ‘Hotel of the Year’ title after scoring 99 per cent during a mystery shop assessment. Premier Apartments in the city’s Northern Quarter was, meanwhile, declared the ‘Serviced Apartments of the Year’.
Manchester International Festival and the Ramsbottom Chocolate Festival were victorious in the large and small ‘Event of the Year’ categories.
The awards evening was attended by 300 representatives of the industry.
Andrew Stokes, Chief Executive of Marketing Manchester, said: “The awards celebrate tourism excellence across Greater Manchester – recognising the year-round contribution that organisations, venues and individuals make to the city’s tourism product. Many of our winners will now have the chance to progress through to the Enjoy England Awards for Excellence to represent Greater Manchester at national level and we wish them the very best of luck.”
With over 1m international visitors a year, Manchester is the third most popular destination in the UK for overseas visitors to Britain. The city’s tourism industry generates £5.8bn a year for the local economy and supports 77,000 full-time jobs.
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