Awardness

The fabulous ballroom at the Hilton was the setting for the Manchester Tourism Awards last night, our respect and applause go to our friends:

Richard Hoffman at The Lowry Hotel for Outstanding Customer Service Award
Manchester Christmas Markets for being Tourism Retailer of the Year
Manchester International Festival for the Sustainable Tourism Award
The River Bar and Restaurant at The Lowry Hotel for the Taste of Manchester Award
Manchester International Festival for Tourism Event of the Year
The Atrium by Bridgestreet Worldwide for Serviced Apartments of the Year and
Radisson Edwardian Hotel for Large Hotel of the Year.

All worthy winners and we look forward to working with you in the years ahead.

For full details on all the winners take a look at the fabulous new Marketing Manchester web site.

Also let's hear it for John Thomson the magnificent awards host.

New New York Flights

Manchester and New York are getting closer. American Airlines has been a loyal travelers friend at Manchester Airport for 25 years. The Summer New York flight is daily and the service started last week. It's important for us as a city to make sure these Boeing 757's are full in both directions and that business class passengers choose Manchester as a preferred exit point for New York.

For guests in Manchester New York JFK is not only a great gateway to one of America's great cities but serves as a hub to over 40 other destinations. For American visitors taking advantage of the strong dollar Manchester provides an easy and comfortable entry point for three great British cities as well as the outstanding natural beauty of the Lake District.

Congratulations to everyone at the airport and at American for this great daily service.

We are also looking forward to seeing the new Escape VIP lounge at the airport. Watch out for more news on how to make your guests more comfortable at the UK's best airport.

Spearfish Nets Dough

The mighty EuroCulture festival which is run by Manchester tribe Spearfish, have managed to attract a huge grant to help them deliver their unique brand of creative engagement with young people in Manchester Romania, Slovakia, Belfast and Finland. The funds have come from the proud town of Turku in Finland who incidentally are celebrating their Capital of Culture status by supporting people like Spearfish.

Well done to Ben and the team at Spearfish for getting the funds and for creating some worthwhile youth projects. Without you we would all be poorer.

Manchester Made it Easy meeting

The next Manchester Made it Easy meeting is on May 10th.

The meeting will update on progress being made to package and promote Manchester as a desirable, Family Friendly destination, in particular over the mid July - early September period.

The gathering will take place at the Malmaison (Mal1 meeting space) on Monday 10th May at 10.30. If you'd like to come along and haven't done so already, please rsvp to louise at World Class Service

You can keep in touch with the Manchester Made it Easy movement at the website, the blog and via twitter and facebook.

Food & Drink Summit. May 24th 2010.

The Food and Drink Summit is a new event in Manchester for the very first time on May 24th 2010. It is "an opportunity to participate in the debates that really matter… and have a bit of fun too."

The summit is put on by the industry for the industry and is aimed at:

• Restaurant & Bar Owners
• Students & Academics
• Retailers
• The Hospitality Sector
• Food & Drink Producers
• Tourism Officers
• Hotel Employees
• Media
• Online Foodies
• Serious Food Enthusiasts

Highlights include Lloyd Grossman, Fergus Henderson (pictured) and Matthew Fort (judge of the Great British Menu).

The afternoon includes a celebrity panel: Twelve Bar Blues: The last waltz of the great British boozer?

Tickets for the day are £30 each. For more information and to book, visit www.thefoodanddrinksummit.com