VisitEngland: Matthew Henderson from Beamish Museum in County Durham becomes England’s Tourism Superstar 2015

LONDON, 2015-3-19 — /Travel PR News/ — As English Tourism Week gets underway VisitEngland is delighted to announce that Matthew Henderson from Beamish Museum in County Durham has come top of a public vote to become England’s Tourism Superstar 2015.

Matthew went up against ten other short-listed nominees in a public vote run by the national tourist board in partnership with the Daily Mirror designed to recognise the dedication and passion of those working in the tourism industry, and those who go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure visitors to England have a priceless experience. All ten shortlisted candidates were featured in a short film on the Daily Mirror website, with the public voting online for the one they thought deserved to be crowned Tourism Superstar 2015. Over 21,400 votes were generated in total this year – a record since the competition started in 2012. Matthew received an impressive 36% of the total votes cast.

Matthew works as an Engagement & Participation Team Assistant at Beamish Museum in the Vale of Durham where his day to day visitor facing role involves helping to deliver events, assisting the museum’s communications team, researching interesting on-site activities and maintaining attention to detail across the site. Matthew first arrived at Beamish almost three years ago, aged just 17, on a six week placement from his college. After a short period, Matthew was offered a two-year apprenticeship in Live Events and Promotions before taking on his current permanent role. He was nominated for VisitEngland’s national awards after winning VisitDurham’s Tourism Superstar awards in 2014.

Angela Tidmarsh, tourism officer at Wychavon Council in Worcestershire was a worthy runner-up in second place and Sue Copp, guest services and inclusions manager at Sandcastle Waterpark in Blackpool in third place.

Commenting on his success, Matthew said: “I honestly cannot believe it. I love working at Beamish and have learned so much from the Beamish team who all work hard to ensure everybody who visits has the best day out possible – so winning this award is a credit to them too. The support from everyone has been amazing but I never expected to win!  I am so grateful to everyone who voted – thank you so much, it’s unbelievable!”

Melanie Sensicle, chief executive of Visit County Durham, who put Matthew forward as a nominee added: “I am delighted that Matthew has won this prestigious title. It’s a testament to the quality of the staff in the tourism industry in Durham that the first Durham Tourism Superstar winner has gone on to pick up VisitEngland’s national Tourism Superstar 2015.”

Chief Executive Officer, VisitEngland, James Berresford said: “I’d like to congratulate all our nominees for their fantastic contribution to tourism in England and the role they play in providing top quality visitor experiences and in particular  to Matthew, our Tourism Superstar 2015, who is quite clearly a very worthy winner. His success is a great example of the career opportunities apprenticeships can offer young people who want a long-term career in tourism and I wish him all the best for the future. I hope this will encourage more school-leavers into the tourism industry to enjoy the diverse range of fun and interesting jobs available across a range of skill levels.”

Matthew will be invited to attend VisitEngland’s Awards for Excellence held in May this year where the Awards will be presented to him in person, and where a gathered audience from across the whole of the tourism industry can recognise the contribution individuals bring to the tourism industry.

The Tourism Superstar accolade was launched in 2012 as part of the first-ever English Tourism Week. Last year’s winner was Buzby Allen – resort entertainer at Potters Resort in Norfolk. English Tourism Week 2015 is designed to promote the value of the tourism industry at a national and local level.  The coming week (14 – 22 March) will see hundreds of attractions, hotels and other tourism businesses across England putting on special events, promotions and competitions to encourage more visitors through their doors, and inspire people to become tourism ambassadors for their local area. To find out what’s going on in your area for English Tourism Week 2015, visit http://www.visitengland.org/england-tourism-industry/etw/

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Press enquiries

For more information, please contact Angelah Sparg, Head of Corporate Communications Tel: 020 7578 1452 Mob: 07500555651, Email: angelah.sparg@visitengland.org or Sarah Rabbitts, Corporate Communications Manager. Tel: 0207 578 1452 Email: sarah.rabbitts@visitengland.org or Website: www.visitengland.org

Notes to editor

• The Tourism Superstar accolade was launched in 2012 as part of the first-ever English Tourism Week.
• The award recognises the dedication and passion of those working in the tourism industry, and is awarded to an individual who goes above and beyond the call of duty to ensure visitors to England have a priceless experience.

About VisitEngland
• VisitEngland is the country’s national tourist board. We work in partnership with the industry to develop the visitor experience across England, plan national tourism strategy, grow the value of tourism in England and provide advocacy for the industry and our visitors
• Our work is underpinned by robust research and customer insights. You can access the latest in-depth market intelligence and statistics on www.visitengland.org/insight-statistics
• For more information, visit www.visitengland.org or www.visitengland.com.

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