Winter Gardens Wins Lancashire Tourism Award

The 120-strong team at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens is celebrating after winning a prestigious Lancashire Tourism Award for best Large Visitor Attraction.

Welcoming over 1.3 million visitors every year, from over 60 different countries to attend over 500 diverse events, has put the unique heritage attraction firmly on the venue map in recent years.

The Winter Gardens’ footprint is now 4.9 acres and is home to the Opera House, the Empress Ballroom and Olympia Exhibition Hall playing host to a wide range of events including Pigeon fanciers, Magicians and the Punk Festival, whilst welcoming trade unions, political parties and theatre goers to catch the latest show. 

Its new £28m Conference and Exhibition Centre provides a stunning new venue to continue to the drive the growth of the business which already represents £80m of economic impact for the region. 

Michael Williams said: “As a business, along with many others, we have faced some incredible challenges since March 2020. This award is testament to the amazing team here, our commitment to our community and to the continued investment in the buildings and technology to ensure that our visitors have a memorable experience during their time with us.

“We feel sure that this year will bring renewed drive and vigour to the region and with it increased tourist numbers. We’re delighted that our efforts have been recognised with this award and look forward to playing a continued, central role in Lancashire tourism in 2022.”

During summer 2021 more people than ever visited the Winter Gardens which directly impacts on the wider region and also local bars, cafes and hotels. 2022 will see another packed programme of events, conferences and shows which have been developed and planned to deliver further visitor numbers to the region.