Cathedral Highly Commended at VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2015
Liverpool Cathedral was Highly Commended at the premier tourist awards organised by VisitEngland - our country's national tourist board. The award means we're rated as one of the top five businesses for excellence for this category in the country.
In a tough category which saw us competing against several other well known names, including Chatsworth House and the eventual winners Ironbridge Gorge Museum, we were delighted that our efforts in welcoming over 500,000 visitors a year were rewarded with this commendation. The award recognises excellence in this area.
Our entry came as a result of our success in the Visit Liverpool Awards last year. We see ourselves as being ambassadors for the city on this one. We hope our success in getting this far shows the importance that tourism has for us, and the important role we offer in terms of attracting people to the city and being part of stimulate the local economy. It follows our excellent rating on Trip Advisor.
Our entry reflected the fact that we are more than a tourist destination. Being first and foremost a place of worship our evidence included a whole host of the activities we offer - from HopePlusFoodbank to the Volition Volunteering Programme and including our many outreach projects. Not to mention our work supporting such a magnificent building.
Director of Enterprises, Eryl Parry said “this is an amazing achievement for the cathedral which shows how we have redefined the role of the cathedral in the 21st century. The cathedral has the wow factor – we see that from the comments people make on Trip Advisor, we see that when first time visitors enter the building and look up. Now it is our turn to say wow
Being part of a vibrant cultural Liverpool has been so important in us getting this far. Our participation in events such as Sound City, Light Night, the International Festival of Business - the list is endless –have been key for us. The faith that so many in the city have placed in our ability to add to the cultural and heritage mix has been really important.
We’re delighted to have been Highly Commended for all we do. It’s a real team effort and everyone who works, volunteers for and is associated with Liverpool Cathedral should feel rightly proud of this award”
About VisitEngland
• VisitEngland is the country’s national tourist board. We work in partnership with the industry to develop the visitor experience across England, plan national tourism strategy, grow the value of tourism in England and provide advocacy for the industry and our visitors. Our work is underpinned by robust research and customer insights. You can access the latest in-depth market intelligence and statistics on www.visitengland.org/insight-statistics.
• England is a unique destination and a real powerhouse in global tourism. It represents 84 per cent of the total UK visitor economy, is worth £106 billion, and supports 2.6 million jobs.
• For corporate information see www.visitengland.org and for consumer information see www.visitengland.com.
About the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2015
The VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2015 celebrate the best of English tourism. They promote healthy industry competition and high standards, helping to ensure England's place as a world-class destination. www.visitenglandawards.org.
The 2015 Awards attracted 345 applications.
The 17 categories for the 2015 awards include: Access for All Tourism Award, Bed & Breakfast / Guest Accommodation of the Year, Business Tourism Award, Holiday Park / Holiday Village of the Year, Large Hotel of the Year, Large Visitor Attraction of the Year, Self-Catering Holiday Provider of the Year, Small Hotel of the Year, Small Visitor Attraction of the Year, Sustainable Tourism Award, Taste of England Award, Tourism Event of the Year, Tourism Experience of the Year, Tourism Pub of the Year, Visitor Information Provider of the Year.
Included in the 17 categories are the additional Awards of Tourism Superstar and Outstanding Contribution to Tourism. The Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award was awarded on the night to the Chefs of England. Previous winners of this award have included The Great English Pub, Michael Eavis CBE, HM The Queen, the Harry Potter films, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Sir Paul McCartney, Liverpool, The National Trust, the English Garden, 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Makers and last year The Travel Agent.