Burnham-On-Sea has this week been announced as a finalist in The National Coach Tourism Awards after being named among the UK’s top six coach tourism towns and cities.
For the third year running Burnham-On-Sea has been named in the top Coach Friendliest Destinations along with Liverpool, Bournemouth, Gloucester, Devizes and Rudesheim in Germany.
Burnham has seen a massive increase in coaches visiting the town since the start of Project Coach, a Town Council-funded initiative aimed at promoting coach tourism.
Figures out in January showed visits had risen from 173 coaches in 2012 to 1,012 in 2014.
The two organisers behind Project Coach, Les Barber and Ian Jefferies, pictured, have been named in the National Coach Tourism Awards as finalists in the category of ‘Coach Tourism Professionals of the Year’ for their work in Burnham. They are named alongside seven other attraction, destination and coach industry personnel who have excelled in promoting the coach industry.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony on May 14th at West Midlands Safari Park where over 400 of the country’s key personnel from the coach tourism industry will be in attendance.
Burnham’s Business and Tourism Manager Ian Jefferies told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We are delighted that Burnham-On-Sea has reached the finals for the third year running and is a reflection of what can be achieved when local authorities, community groups and businesses pull together. This recognition is due to the many people and groups who have assisted in welcoming coaches to our little town. The effect this project has had on our local economy has not just been what we see with coaches coming directly into us, but also with many passengers stating during their short stops that they have loved what they have seen in their short time and will return for a proper stay over.”
Burnham’s Coach Destination Manager Les Barber added: “It’s fantastic for the town that the implementations we have made over the last 3 years have been recognised. We are up against some significantly bigger towns and cities but do hope we can go one stage further this year and bring home the trophy. Project Coach is continuing on a voluntary basis but we are hoping to secure some funding in the near future to push this project on to the next level and entice even more coach loads of passengers to enjoy our town’s offerings.”
The National Coach Tourism Awards recognise excellence and innovation among coach tour operators, destinations, visitor attractions, and tourism industry suppliers and are the only national awards scheme to specifically focus on the coach tourism industry.
Pictured: Business and Tourism Manager Ian Jefferies and Coach Destination Manager Les Barber
