BEAMISH TRIUMPHS AGAIN AT NATIONAL AWARD CEREMONY

Beamish was presented with a major national Award at a glittering ceremony in the Radisson SAS Portman Hotel in London last Friday. The Museum won ‘ Best UK Attraction for Group Visits – Long Visit ' at the 2007 Group Travel Awards, ahead of runner-up The Eden Project and finalists including The Alnwick Garden, Alton Towers, Blenheim Palace and Leeds Castle. This is the second consecutive year that Beamish has won this prestigious title, moreover the Museum has won it no less than five times since 2000.

These national Awards are arranged by Group Travel Organiser Magazine and nominees in twenty six categories are voted for by readers of the magazine. The Museum is particularly proud to receive this Award since the voters are Group Travel Organisers who have personal experience of Beamish themselves and placed it ahead of the competition. The Awards aim to cover all types of group travel trade suppliers and recognise the effort put in by those who work within the industry in meeting their customers' needs.

Hearing the wonderful news, Miriam Harte, Director of Beamish said “We are proud to receive the Award, it's a great accolade for the Museum and all of the staff. This is the fifth time that Beamish has won this prestigious Award, proving that we are consistently giving our visitors a first class day out, maintaining our standards and meeting our customers' expectations. We hope that this will help to raise awareness of Beamish and bring even more coach trips to the Museum and to our region.”

Group visits to Beamish have steadily grown since the mid-1980s – the number of visitors arriving in coach groups has increased from 15,000 in 1985 to almost 50,000 in 2006. Many of these groups visit North East England on short break holidays, bringing valuable business to hotels and other tourist attractions in the region.

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Media contact :- Jacki Winstanley, Publicity Manager, tel. 0191 370 4024.

Email jackiwinstanley@beamish.org.uk

Issued 27.06.07