The Imperial War Museum North in the UK won the accolade of Large Visitor Attraction of the Year at the 2006 Marketing Manchester Tourism Awards.

The thirteen Award categories included four new categories for 2006: Bar of the Year, won by Panacea; Restaurant of the Year, won by The River Restaurant at the Lowry Hotel; Tourism Retailer of the Year, awarded to The Trafford Centre; and The Manchester Recommends Award, as voted for by readers of the Manchester Evening News and won by The Manchester Blue Badge Guides.

Other winners included Urbis for Tourism Website of the Year, The Salford Triathlon for the Tourism Event of the Year and The Lowry for the Business Tourism Award.

The Great John Street Hotel claimed the title of Small Hotel of the Year, while Jumbles Country Park B&B in Bolton won the award for Bed and Breakfast of the Year.

Other regional winners included Stockport’s Hat Works for Small Visitor Attraction of the Year and Redhouse Farm Shop and Tea Rooms for the Taste of Manchester Award.

The event was supported by the Northwest Regional Development Agency. Director of marketing, Peter Mearns, said: “Tourism is a major success story for the Northwest, and Manchester plays a significant role in that success.”

Andrew Stokes, chief executive of Marketing Manchester, added: “The evening was considered a huge success and celebrated what makes the city-region so appealing to visitors. Tourism within the Greater Manchester region is growing every year.”

Organised by Marketing Manchester – the Tourist Board for Greater Manchester – the Awards, held at Manchester’s International Convention Centre, are now in their third year.

A number of the winners will be entered into the England Northwest Tourism Awards 2006, to be held in October. Details: www.marketingmanchester.com