All smiles as Ryedale stars at tourism Oscars (From Gazette & Herald)

All smiles as Ryedale stars at tourism Oscars

RYEDALE'S £100 million-a-year tourism industry has been given a major boost after attractions in the district won four categories in this year's Yorkshire Tourist Board (YTB) White Rose Awards.

In addition, Ryedale had seven finalists in the 15 categories.

Castle Howard won two classes - the visitor attraction of the year with more than 100,000 visitors, and the Taste of Yorkshire award for its restaurant and use of local produce.

The honour of best newcomer to tourism went to the youth hostel at Lockton, nationally acclaimed for winning a Green Beacon Award for providing sustainable tourism and a high standard of accommodation.

Earlier this year, it was awarded four-star status by Visit Britain. The hostel has accommodation for 21 guests and has been praised for its environmentally-friendly design.

The award for tourism website of the year went to Low Penhowe, near Malton, whose owner, Christopher Turner, operates bed and breakfast accommodation and two holiday cottages between the villages of Burythorpe and Westow.

He said he had worked with John Boardman, managing director of Spiderman Technology, to create what he described as "a plain, simple design" with clean, crisp factual descriptions.

Twenty per cent of Low Penhowe's guests come from overseas, said Mr Turner.

The awards were presented at a banquet held at the National Railway Museum, York.

YTB's new chairman, Judith Donovan, said: "I can't stress strongly enough the importance of quality to the growth and success of the tourism industry in our region. I have been tasked with growing Yorkshire's tourism business by a staggering five per cent a year for the next five years. To do that, we need quality products at all levels."

Other Ryedale finalists were: The Moorlands Country House Hotel, Levisham, and Low Penhowe (guest accommodation of the year); Feversham Arms Hotel, Helmsley (hotel of the year up to 50 bedrooms); Helmsley Castle (visitor attraction of the year with under 100,000 visitors); Ashwall House, Bulmer, Beech Farm Cottages, Wrelton, Eastgate Cottages, Pickering, Keld Head Cottages, Pickering (self-catering holiday of the year); and Eastgate Cottages (tourism website).

The White Rose awards - the 'Oscars' of Yorkshire's tourist business - were created 16 years ago to recognise and reward excellence in tourism, said the tourist board's chief executive, David Andrews.

Castle Howard and Low Penhowe now go forward to the national England for Excellence Awards next spring.

Other winners of the categories included: Gallon House, Knaresborough (guest accommodation of the year); The Grange Hotel, York, and Brooklands Hotel, Barnsley (hotels of the year); Captain Cook Memorial Museum, Whitby (visitor attraction of the year with under 100,000 visitors); York Luxury Holidays (self-catering holiday of the year); Burton Constable Holiday Park (caravan parks); Harrogate tourist information centre (TIC of the year); West Yorkshire Playhouse (customer service); Magna Science Adventure Centre, Rotherham (business tourism); Xscape, Castleford (best tourism experience) and The Angel Inn, Hetton (Yorkshire pub of the year).

Updated: 15:42 Friday, October 28, 2005