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Issue Date:- 9 June 2008

Cruise to victory!

MERSEY Ferries’ popular Manchester Ship Canal Cruises have been crowned Merseyside’s best small visitor attraction.  The Ferries scooped top honours at The Mersey Partnership’s Annual Tourism Awards on Wednesday 28 May 2008, a celebration of the very best of Merseyside’s booming tourism economy.

The news comes just weeks after the Manchester Ship Canal Cruises, consistently breaking records for visitor numbers year on year, took top spot in the Waterways Renaissance Awards, run by The Waterways Trust and BURA (British Urban Regeneration Association).

Over the last few years, demand for the cruises, one of the jewels in the Mersey Ferries crown, have rocketed – 22% in 2007 alone.  They are proving so popular that Merseytravel, which owns and operates the Mersey Ferries, has committed to extra cruises throughout 2008.

Councillor Mark Dowd, Chair of Merseytravel, said:- “This is yet another fantastic accolade for the Mersey Ferries. The Ship Canal Cruises have gone from strength to strength and demand from visitors is exceeding all our expectations. We hope they continue to be such a success.”

Neil Scales, Chief Executive and Director General of Merseytravel added:- “The fact that they are proving more popular, year on year, justifies our decision to continue to invest in the ferries.  The ferries business is incredibly important to us and we’re particularly delighted with the success of the cruises. It has taken a lot of hard work by a lot of people to make them the success they are today. They are a key part of the region’s tourism economy.”

Merseytravel has spent millions of pounds over the last 10 years making improvements to the 3 ferries and the terminals, including new attractions such as Spaceport at Seacombe, the emerging new Beatles Story attraction at Merseytravel’s new £10.5million Pier Head terminal and U-534 at Woodside. 

Also short-listed for awards at the gala were Merseytravel’s Mersey Tunnel Tours (Best Small Visitor Attraction) and The Beatles Story (Best Tourism Website).

Manchester Ship Canal Cruises

Cruises usually depart from Liverpool’s Pier Head on Saturday’s and Salford Quays on Sundays. 

They take in the spectacular scenery of the Manchester Ship Canal, leaving passengers with a sense of how its construction shaped the region.

The 6 hour, 35 mile cruise includes a live commentary giving an insight into the facts, history and dramas of one of Britain’s most important waterways.

Mersey Ferries vessels carry passengers in comfortable modern surroundings following their multi-million pound refits. The Ferries have a bar and food is available to purchase in the lounge areas.

The cruise costs £33 per head (£31 for senior citizens), with a 10% discount for groups of 20 or more, and includes bus transportation to take passengers back to their starting point at the end of the cruise.

Tickets are only available by advance booking.

Contact Mersey Ferries on 0151 330 1444 or book online
.

Deal struck for Wirral schoolchildren

MERSEYTRAVEL and Wirral Council have struck a deal that could save Wirral secondary school children, and their parents, hundreds of pounds on school bus travel.  Serving West Kirby and Calday Grange Grammar schools, the WirralFbuses were, up until this school year, the only block of school buses in the county provided by a local education authority.  Merseytravel agreed to take over supporting the F bus routes this school year following removal of the Council subsidy.

However, following high-level negotiations between Chair of Merseytravel Councillor Mark Dowd and Wirral Council Leader Councillor Steve Foulkes the provision will now be taken over and subsidised by Merseytravel permanently from September.  The deal will mean that children using the F Buses will now only pay 50p per trip (or use a SOLO travelcard), instead of some £500 a year.

Councillor Mark Dowd, Chair of Merseytravel, said:- “It is important we bring these buses into our countywide school bus network and create a level playing field across the region. School children using the F Series of buses should be paying the same as every other Wirral school child using their tickets on other bus services that we subsidise.  There is a lack of commercial bus routes for children from these two schools, so it is important that something was done to support them as best we can.  We hope parents and children will be the beneficiaries of this deal and that this goes some way to helping reduce costs for school bus travel.”

As yet, Merseytravel is currently awaiting tender bids from operators to run the F bus services.  In total, Merseytravel currently supports 67 buses, serving 27 schools in Wirral.

IF IT’S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ALAN SUGAR…

AS the BBC’s award-winning series The Apprentice reaches its climax, and the nation tunes in to see who will win the challenge to train and work with Sir Alan Sugar, there is a real world of Apprenticeships that exists much closer to home… and it isn’t quite as harsh!

With 68% of young people turning to their parents for advice about their career options, now is the time to find out more about your son or daughter taking up an Apprenticeship. Becoming an apprentice is not just for competing business tycoons on TV. Perhaps your son or daughter has the desire to get hired, if so an Apprenticeship can offer them the opportunity to succeed.

Apprenticeships are now one of the most successful options for raising skill levels and helping young people to achieve their goals. Not just about the money, the main prize in becoming an apprentice is gaining experience and a hands-on understanding of the job – a priceless opportunity that young people across the region can seize for themselves through one of the hundreds of Apprenticeship programmes, funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).

Although Alan Sugar is notoriously hard to please, real life Apprenticeships are not as daunting as they appear to be in his boardroom, yet the opportunities they offer can be just as exciting. From business administration to information technology, plumbing to joinery, travel to hospitality, there are now over 200 Apprenticeships available across 80 industry sectors. As Apprenticeships allow young people to study for nationally recognised qualifications whilst gaining hands-on experience at work and earning a wage, apprentices can ensure they have both the skills and the experience that employers look for. Choosing between the world of work and continuing to study can be a difficult decision to make and by opting for an Apprenticeship, young people can have the best of both worlds.

John Korzeniewski, Regional Director for the LSC in the North West said:- “Programmes such as ‘The Apprentice’ are helping to highlight Apprenticeships as a viable route to achieving career goals. Putting the Apprenticeship programme centre stage, the show emphasises how important it is for young people to have the right skills and the right attitude in order to succeed.  Apprenticeships provide a chance for young people to get on to the career ladder and excel in their chosen profession and with so many Apprenticeships now available, there is a choice for everyone.”

If you would like to find out more about Apprenticeships log on to www.apprenticeships.org.uk.

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