Harrogate International Centre

Congratulations go to Harrogate's Tourist Information Centre (TIC) that has won Silver in the TIC category at the 2006 'Enjoy England Awards for Excellence'.  Organised by Visit Britain the winners were announced at Madame Tussauds in London by writer and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig. 

 

Winning silver in the competition acknowledges the outstanding customer service provided by the team at Harrogate and can only boost Harrogate's excellent reputation as a quality visitor and business destination. The Gold went to Winchester Tourist Information Centre.

 

Ann Shovelton, Visitor Service Manager at Harrogate TIC said, "We are absolutely delighted to be recognised as one of the top two Tourist Information Centres in England.  Our TIC team gives a personal and traditional warm Yorkshire welcome to visitors, even though we use leading-edge technology to search for and book local accommodation.  We always go the extra mile to ensure that business and leisure visitors have a relaxed and enjoyable experience.  The council has a commitment to excellence which is reflected in their visitor service and the work we do with attractions and accommodation providers produces a high quality tourism product - next year we hope for gold."

 

Ends

 

Notes to the Editor:

Enjoy England Awards for Excellence. There is twelve different categories short listed, from visitor attractions to hotels to self-catering accommodation and caravan parks.  Yorkshire's entries were submitted upon winning a coveted Yorkshire Tourist Board White Rose Award for Tourism and then short listed to the national finals, culminating in the Awards ceremony in April.
Yorkshire Tourist Board is the recognised tourism agency for Yorkshire and Humber, it exists to represent and help create sustainable business for the region's tourism industry and industry that contributed in excess of £4.1bn to the regional economy in 2004 and accounts for over 165,000 jobs.
The Enjoy England Awards for Excellence 2006 celebrate the best of English tourism. 

 

Now in their 17th year, the Awards are known throughout the industry as the 'Oscars' of tourism. They promote healthy industry competition and high standards, helping to ensure England's place as a world-class destination.

The nine regional tourism bodies which submitted entries to the awards are: East of England Tourist Board, East Midlands Tourism, Heart of England Tourism, Visit London, One NorthEast, Northwest Regional Development Agency, Tourism South East, South West Tourism, Yorkshire Tourist Board.

 

Short list for Tourist Information Centre of the Year
Harrogate faced competition from finalists from the other English tourism regions and to be short listed in the top 3 the TIC had to illustrate that they met a number of criteria including how they work with the local community to how they assist those with mobility and sensory impairments.

 

Winchester TIC - Tourism South East Winner of TIC of the Year
Harrogate TIC - Yorkshire Tourist Board Runner Up
Harwich Connexions TIC East of England Tourism Board
Derby TIC East Midlands Tourism
Malvern TIC Heart of England Tourism
North Shields TIC One NorthEast Tourism Team
Dorchester TIC South West Tourism