York tourism awards

At York's tourism "Oscars", heavyweight visitor attractions such as the Jorvik Viking Centre and the Castle Museum were honoured alongside previously unsung heroes such as Syd Heppell, a voluntary city guide.

The awards, sponsored by Northern Spirit and the First Stop York Tourism Partnership, were handed out at the Moat House Hotel by BBC Look North star Harry Gration.

The ceremony was compered by BBC Radio York breakfast show duo Elly Fiorentini and Phil Bodmer.

This year the onus was placed on tourism businesses to subtly persuade their customers to vote for them and, more than 7,000 nominations later, the winners were selected.

The Lord Mayor of York, Councillor Shan Braund, said: "I'd like to add my congratulations to the winners and to say how appropriate it is that a city which is recognised as one of the world's foremost visitor destinations should celebrate its own success and recognise those who make the city's tourism industry what it is today."

The winners of the York Tourism Awards 2000 are as follows:

Guest House (sponsored by The Coppergate Centre): Bronte Guest House, Grosvenor Terrace. Four years ago, David and Yvonne Copley took up the challenge to restore a rather dilapidated Victorian house to its former splendour.

Many months of hard work later, this five-bedroomed, family-run guesthouse has been brought up to a four-diamond rating and it is getting a steady stream of very satisfied customers.

Hotel (sponsored by Great Potential): YHA York International (Youth Hostel), Water End. York has had a youth hostel for many years, but it was really with the arrival of David Meagher two years ago that things started to look up.

Improvements were made to the fabric of the building and staff underwent a training programme, the results of which could be seen quite clearly in the glowing reports from very happy customers.

Conference Venue (sponsored by First Stop York Tourism Partnership): The College of Ripon & York St. John, Lord Mayor's Walk. The college offers a central, compact and beautiful setting for a wide range of conferences, functions and events.

It has an air-conditioned, tiered lecture theatre, a conference room for 270 and a large number of seminar rooms. Organisers commented on the spotless facilities, efficient staff and excellent food.

Shop (sponsored by York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce): Heraldic Art and Design. Sally Pettingell started Heraldic Art and Design in York five years ago, moving from Stonegate Walk to the Shambles in 1998.

The shop has gone from strength to strength, offering what is sometimes seen as a unique service, helping visitors to trace the heraldic design of their family name.

Once this has been researched, the design is then produced by hand on a variety of products which are popular with visitors from all over the world.

Restaurant (sponsored by McArthurGlen Designer Outlet) Coffee Espress. Coffee Espress, in Goodramgate, bowled its customers over with its olde worlde surroundings, attractive paintings, enjoyable food and friendly staff.

With fierce competition from new coffee bars which have recently opened in the city, Coffee Espress was ahead of the crowd with high standards of customer care combined with a very relaxing atmosphere.

Pub (sponsored by Burn & Co.): The Golden Fleece, Pavement. Fresh food, fine beers and friendly staff make this a firm favourite with York's visitors and comments like "great atmosphere", "lovely home-cooked food" and "quick and friendly service" secured the Golden Fleece the top spot.

The pub also has a reputation for some of the best floral displays in the city.

Attraction (sponsored by Northern Spirit): The Castle Museum. The Castle Museum never fails to attract compliments from its visitors, many of whom return again and again to savour the variety of experiences on offer.

This year, the popular Cradle to Grave exhibition has given visitors another new experience.

Entertainment (sponsored by The Evening Press): Ali Lawrence and Karl Mullen, pianists. York's visitors love Ali and Karl's entertaining performances in the city's streets, pubs and restaurants.

Playing everything from classical to popular music, the nominations show that the pair help make York the unique and colourful place people love to visit. Comments included "wonderful keyboard playing" and "outstanding talent - fantastic repertoire".

City Tour (sponsored by Wallace Arnold): YorkBoat. Denise and John Howard have been at the helm of YorkBoat since 1989 and have steered a very successful course for their river cruises, floodlit tours, themed events and corporate dinners.

This year has seen even more passengers enjoy the cruise on the Ouse, which provides an introduction to a different view of the city and which is also a relaxing way to hear more of York's fascinating history.

Architectural (sponsored by York Inward Investment Board): City Screen, Coney Street. A single development designed by Panter Hudspith Architects of London has tackled all the problems of having little modern architecture in York.

Part of the scheme includes the art house cinema City Screen which was created from the former newspaper printworks. Visitors were impressed with the grandstand view overlooking the river, thanks to the sloping auditorium floor.

Tourism For All (sponsored by Staintons, Hospitality Surveyors): York Dungeon. Visitors were impressed by how accessible the Dungeon was in spite of the difficulties of the building and the layout, meandering through an arrangement of displays and exhibits.

Chairlifts, very helpful staff, ramps throughout the attraction and excellent disabled access toilet facilities were all commended.

First Stop York By Train Top Station (sponsored by Transpennine Express): Huddersfield. The effort to promote the First Stop York By Train offer at Huddersfield Station paid rich dividends with more than 2,000 passengers being given vouchers to use in York's attractions, shops and restaurants.

More than 60,000 vouchers were redeemed by rail travellers at participating establishments.

Customer Service (sponsored by Great North Eastern Railways): Jorvik Viking Centre. The Viking Centre has won many awards over the years for innovative design and best attraction, but this time staff on the shop floor receive recognition for their friendly, helpful attitude to the thousands of visitors they welcome each year.

Marketing Innovation (sponsored by York Tourism Bureau): The Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington. The publicity and subsequent increase in visitor numbers at the air museum has been phenomenal since Ian Reed arrived as museum director two years ago.

Instigating a "think media" drive amongst staff combined with new displays and events has resulted in a 43 per cent increase in numbers over the past 18 months. Now recognised as one of the best of its kind in the world.

Travel Journalist (sponsored by Jorvik Viking Centre): Pat Richardson, Travel Editor of Best Magazine. Pat spends most of her time in London but her love for other destinations shows through her travel reports.

Pat's article in the July edition described York in glowing terms with phrases like, "It's got everything...history and museums, shopping, great food and restaurants and beautiful countryside."

Ambassador (sponsored by our thisisyork website): Syd Heppell, of the York Association of Voluntary Guides. Syd is the only remaining founder member of the association still working as a voluntary guide.

The association was set up in 1950 and ran its first tour in 1951. In his 50 years of guiding, Syd reckons that he has probably talked about York for at least 10,000 hours and all for no fee.