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For the second year running, St Paul’s Cathedral has been named as best visitor attraction by one of the UK’s leading tourism industry associations.

The UKinbound Visitor Attraction of the Year 2011 award was voted for by members of UKinbound and presented to the cathedral for the second year in a row, at a gala dinner in Belfast this month.

2011 was an important year for St Paul’s as visitors received the benefits of the improvements to the sightseeing experience launched in late 2010. These included the introduction of touch-screen multimedia guides, guided tours, a group tour system and the award winning 270° film experience Oculus: an eye into St Paul’s. Fast track entrances were then launched in 2011 and the cathedral also came to the end of its full cleaning and restoration project.

St Paul’s Travel Trade Sales & Marketing Manager, Matt Taylor, who picked up the award, was delighted with the win. He said: “To win an award such as this shows how popular we are with visitors but to win it for two consecutive years really proves our consistency and continued efforts to make St Paul’s a destination for both cathedral worshippers and tourists alike.

“The changes we have implemented, including the 12-language multimedia tours, have only served to increase the enjoyment of our visitors, and the end of the restoration project has left the cathedral looking as fantastic as it has in any of its 300 years.

“It’s always humbling to be recognised in this way by our peers within the UK travel and tourism community and we thank UKinbound once again for this honour.”