Burnham-On-Sea was named as one of the UK’s top six coach destinations at the 2015 National Coach Tourism Awards last night (Thursday).
Burnham was among the short-listed towns and cities aiming to win the title of ‘Coach Friendly Destination Of The Year’. Burnham got a special commendation from the judges.
The annual awards ceremony, held at West Midlands Safari Park in Worcestershire, are run by trade magazine Coach Monthly.
Burnham was competing against Bournemouth, Devizes, Gloucester, Liverpool and Rudesheim in Germany – with the overall winner named as Liverpool.
In 2013, Burnham was named as a finalist in the category ‘coach friendliest town or city’ and in 2014 it was a runner-up in the ‘Coach Friendliest Destination’ category. Last year, Burnham achieved the accreditation of ‘Coach Friendly Status’ from the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT).
Ian Jefferies, Burnham’s Business and Tourism Manager, and Burnham’s Coach Destination Manager Les Barber attended last night’s awards and were also nominated as ‘Coach Tourism Professionals Of The Year’ following their considerable work in attracting more coach tourists to Burnham.
Over the two years since Burnham’s Project Coach began, more than 1,000 extra coaches have been attracted into the town, generating over £230,000 of extra trade.
Pictured: Ian Jefferies and Les Barber receiving Burnham’s award last year
