| GETTING CANED |  | | | DELIGHT WITH DENTIST | | | | COMBAT HAY FEVER | | | | TOP AWARDS | | |
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Awards a tour de force
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| The winners celebrate |
SIMPLY the best. That's the verdict on the 15 winners of Bournemouth's first-ever tourism awards, backed by the Daily Echo.
To view and order pictures taken at the awards click here
They were presented at a glittering Oscars-style ceremony in the De Vere Royal Bath Hotel, hosted by ITN anchorman Mark Austin. The occasion was a return home for Emmy Award-winning Mark, 48, who was educated at Homefield School and began his media career as a Daily Echo reporter in the late 1970s.
Speaking at the event, he fondly recalled his Echo days, praising the paper that had given him a "good grounding" in journalism.
The awards celebrate the commitment, innovation, quality, excellence and achievement of the many individuals and businesses that contribute to Bournemouth's allure to visitors.
There were three finalists in each of 14 categories, with nominees ranging from clubs, hotels, shops, bars and restaurants to theme parks, boat operators and other leisure attractions.
The 15th award, for outstanding contribution to tourism, went to local historian and author John Walker, who has written booklets on Bournemouth and leads murder walks.
Emma Bridgeman from Bournemouth Tourism said: "It was a very good evening. It all ran well and it was lovely to see everybody dressed up. Mark was fantastic and very charismatic. Everyone deserved to be there and they all did very well."
Bournemouth Council itself excelled in the awards, which were judged by members of the Bournemouth Tourism management board based on results from "mystery shoppers". The BIC and Pavilion won the outstanding customer service category and was a runner-up for best evening experience. The council's work on Bournemouth seafront scooped the award for sustainable tourism initiative of the year.
Beales, currently celebrating its 125th anniversary year, was judged the top chain or department store, while Enigma in Old Christchurch Road was the top speciality or independent store.
Out of places to stay, Edward VII's former love nest, the Langtry Manor Hotel in Bournemouth, won the best small hotel or guest accommodation; while the Haven Hotel at Sandbanks, Poole, was named the large hotel of the year.
The top self-catering establishment was Southmoor in Bournemouth, and the award for the holiday, camping and caravan park of the year went to Hoburne Naish in New Milton.
Its sister park, Hoburne Bashley was a runner-up, as was Rockley Park in Hamworthy, which was also a runner-up in the sustainable tourism initiative
category.
The tourism entrepreneur of the year was Tim Sanders of Discover Dorset; top tourist attraction Farmer Palmer's at Organford; and tourism marketing initiative of the year went to Bournemouth's Oceanarium.
The Taste of Bournemouth restaurant/bistro of the year was awarded to West Beach Restaurant on Bournemouth seafront, while Landmarc Restaurant Lounge was judged the best evening experience for entertainment.
The bar/nightclub award capped an extraordinary week for 1812 of Exeter Road, Bournemouth, which only opened in July last year. Only two days before the Bournemouth Tourism Awards, it was a finalist in the best classic hotel bar section in national awards run by the magazine Class. The other finalists were five star hotels in London.
For the full list of winners and runners up, see Saturday's Echo.
12:08pm Saturday 2nd December 2006
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