Steam railway in line for two top tourism awards |
There are high hopes of success for the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, as the heritage attraction has been short-listed for two top tourism awards.
The railway has been short-listed for ‘Best Attraction’ and ‘Best Marketing Campaign’ categories in the York Tourism Awards 2009. Results will be announced on 2nd April.
Sustained visitor numbers in excess of 300,000 per year, the staging of a unique national event that brought thousands to the ‘Moors’ to see three A4 Pacific locomotives together in steam for the first time in over 40 years, and the hosting of the biggest ‘Railway at War’ event yet, were just some of the highlights of the past year.
The railway also generated significant media attention by basing its marketing efforts on working closely with journalists, film-makers and photographers.
Philip Benham, NYMR General Manager, said: “This is great news. We’ve always regarded ourselves as complementing the attractions in the centre of York, and appreciate getting the recognition our people so richly deserve. Not only are we continuing to attract a significant number of tourists, but research suggests that the railway helps to bring some £30 million per year into the regional economy. That’s significant by anybody’s standards.”
The railway relies on over 300 volunteers and 100 paid staff to operate, and in the peak season provides 12 return services per day, acting as an important gateway to the moors and coast between Pickering and Whitby.
In recent weeks the Moors Railway has been awarded a contract to continue operating services in and out of Whitby until 2014. It has also been successful in attracting £1 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards the building of a new Visitor & Education Centre at Pickering station.
North York Moors Railway - Official Website
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