First Annual Wrexham Tourism Ambassador Awards Takes Place

The growing visitor industry across Wrexham County Borough was celebrated on Friday night at an awards event at the Ramada.

The first Wrexham Tourism Ambassador Awards took place to recognise many of the visitor focussed businesses who have ‘really gone the extra mile over the last 12-months to give a brilliant experience to their customers’.

Over 100 members of the trade were in attendance, with the special Pontcysyllte Aqueduct themed awards being hand-crafted by local students from Thinc at Coleg Cambria.

In the run-up to the awards, there were over 2,000 votes cast online by the public for 6 of the 11 awards, with the remaining 5 being decided by the Wrexham Destination Management Partnership Board. The Partnership Board currently comprises of 14 business including Wrexham County Borough Council, Visit Wales, Erddig Hall and Chirk Castle (National Trust), Coleg Cambria and the Canal & River Trust.

Winners of the public vote on the night included the Tea Rooms in Chirk who scooped three awards including best café/restaurant and Erddig Hall took home best visitor attraction.

The Holt Lodge Hotel celebrated the award of best large accommodation provider, Willington Lodge Bed & Breakfast the best small accommodation provider, the Plassey Holiday Park took the best self-catering provider and the recently refurbished Vaults in Ruabon – the best pub.

Peter Jones from Jones the Boats at Pontcysyllte took home the award for outstanding commitment to the tourism industry in Wrexham.

Taking the award for outstanding commitment to the local tourism industry in Wrexham was Peter Jones from Jones the Boats. Peter has carried thousands of passengers on cruises across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct for many years and has been a long-standing ambassador for Wrexham’s tourism economy.

Joe Bickerton, Destination Manager at Wrexham County Borough Council said: “Although we’re getting more visitors arriving, it’s crucial that they have a great experience with us – otherwise we may lose them forever, along with the people they then go away and tell about it.”

“With support from Visit Wales, we’ve been able to provide a diverse programme of networking events, training, learning journeys and marketing opportunities for everyone involved and it’s brilliant to see well over 70 businesses actively participating in the ambassador scheme today. We’ve a great platform to build upon now and a lot of positivity amongst the trade which hopefully will inspire other businesses to get involved as great ambassadors for our area.”

Jane Richardson, Deputy Director of Partnerships & Policy from Visit Wales (Welsh Government) presented the awards on the night and said: “It gave me great pleasure to be at the awards night to recognise the hard work of the Wrexham tourism ambassadors and the commitment that they have given in delivering an outstanding visitor experience.

“Whist getting our car parking, public toilets, parks and visitor information provided by local authorities right – an outstanding visitor experience can only be achieved where host communities have positive interactions with our visitors and the Wrexham Ambassadors are going that extra mile to ensure that visitors have those positive experiences.”

Clare Tookey, manager of the Vaults Ruabon collects the award for best pub.

The full list of award winners on the evening was;
PUBLIC VOTES

• Best small accomodation provider: Willington Lodge Bed & Breakfast
• Best large accomodation provider: The Holt Lodge Hotel
• Best Self Catering Provider: The Plassey Holiday Park
• Best Cafe/Resturant: The Tea Rooms, Chirk
• Best Visitor Attraction: Erddig Hall & Gardens
• Best Pub: The Vaults, Ruabon

OTHER AWARDS

• Award for sourcing local, quality produce (in association with Wrexham Food First); The Tea Rooms, Chirk
• Award for the best use of digital & social media for Wrexham’s visitors; Erddig Hall & Gardens
• Award for delivering outstanding customer service; Willington Lodge Bed & Breakfast
• Award for commitment to the Wrexham Tourism Ambassador Scheme in 2014; Tyn Y Capel pub & restaurant, the Ramada Plaza Wrexham, The Holt Lodge Hotel, The Plassey Holiday Park, Willington Lodge Bed & Breakfast, the Bridge End Inn Ruabon, Emral Gardens Caravan Park.
• Award for outstanding commitment to local tourism in Wrexham; Peter Jones – Jones the Boats at Pontcysyllte

If businesses are interested in getting involved in this scheme or tourism in the area you can contact Joe Bickerton, Destination Manager at Wrexham County Borough Council on 01978 292461 or email joe.bickerton @ wrexham.gov.uk