Tourism recognised internationally

Thanet’s tourism industry has been recognised at an international, national and regional level.

The village of St. Peter’s was highly commended in the Best Destination in the World of the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards. It’s an international competition, which received almost 2,000 nominations this year for tourism ventures across the world that provide outstanding holidays that also benefit local people and destinations. The category, which received more than 100 nominations alone, was won by New Zealand, which was also named as the overall winner of the competition.

The judges said: “St. Peter’s uses tourism to maintain and develop the community’s sense of place and pride in its history and heritage. Since 1995, 16,000 visitors have been guided on walks showing that there is something of interest to discover wherever you care to look for it – beyond the more obvious tourist attractions.”

At the British Guild of Travel Writers Awards, the Thanet Greeters project was highly commended in the category for new tourism product. The scheme enables visitors to Thanet to meet with local people who are friendly and enthusiastic about the place they live in.

At a regional level, Thanet also had two successes in the South East Tourism for Excellence Awards,. The St. Peter’s Village Tour was highly commended in the Best Tourism Experience category, while the Joss Bay Surf School also received a highly commended accolade in the Sports Tourism category.

Cllr. Roger Latchford, Cabinet Member for Culture and Economy, said: “Our congratulations go out to all those who have been recognised for their hard work for Thanet’s tourism industry. It’s wonderful to see the area gaining this much recognition and, in particular, congratulations to St. Peter’s for such a wonderful result in such a prestigious international competition. It’s clear that, with that many nominees, it was exceptionally competitive, which just highlights the achievement that St. Peter’s has made. These results show the quality that we have on offer for visitors to our beautiful area and these results will no doubt help to attract even more people to Thanet in future years.”

Brian Sleightholm, Chairman of the St. Peter’s Village Tour, said: “The St. Peter’s Village Tour Group is amazed and humbled to receive such recognition! To feature next in place to a whole country, New Zealand, with so many beautiful and natural resources at their disposals is fantastic. We are delighted to have received this award, which we will treasure. It will be our beacon in our quest to provide our visitors with entertainment, together with information about our history and heritage in a responsible manner.”

ENDS

Publication date: 18 November 2008