The Eden Project and Giant’s Causeway have both been recognised at this year’s British Travel Awards, while Cornwall has also been named best UK holiday destination for the seventh consecutive year.
The publicly-voted annual awards ceremony – which recognises the best leisure travel and tourism enterprises across the UK – named the Eden Project as the Best UK Leisure Attraction for the fifth year running, with Legoland Windsor and Longleat Safari Park finishing narrowly behind, picking up silver and bronze awards respectively.
The accolades have been rolling in for the Eden Project, which also recently picked up the green award at the inaugural National Geographic Traveller Reader Awards this week. The highly acclaimed project is looking to expand its reach outside of the UK, with plans to develop
sister sites in China and
possibly New Zealand. Closer to home, the Eden Project has also secured a deal to develop a
£150m second development in Devon.
The wider Cornwall area was named Best UK Holiday County in the country – something it has done so for every year since 2009 – besting Northumberland and Devon, which picked up the silver and bronze awards. Cornwall also saw the town of Bude named Best UK Coastal Resort.
“To be named as the nation's favourite holiday destination for seven years is a truly incredible achievement,” said Malcolm Bell, chief executive of Visit Cornwall. "Each and every person involved in tourism in the county should be proud of this award. It represents strength in our product, brand and future and is a powerful message to be able to shout across the world.”
It was a first time win for Northern Ireland’s Giant’s Causeway, which picked up the award for Best UK Heritage Attraction, beating off competition from Edinburgh Castle, which won silver, and Snowdon Mountain Railway, which picked up the bronze accolade.
The Giant’s Causeway is the country’s most-visited tourist attraction, welcoming thousands of people on a daily basis. The site was designated a World Heritage Site in 1986 and an £18.5m visitor centre dedicated to the unique natural phenomenon was
opened in 2012.
