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Title: Magnificent Attraction Award Author: Yorkshire Wildlife Park  ID & Publication: 20120911015 ~ The-Villager.co.uk  Area: Branton  Subject: Entertainment

Award winning Yorkshire Wildlife Park is celebrating after scooping Yorkshire’s Most Magnificent Attraction Award 2012.

The walk through wildlife park triumphed over a hundred other entrants, including some of Yorkshire's most established tourist venues and attractions, to land the coveted prize.

YWP beat last year's winner Yorkshire Sculpture Park into second place, followed - in order - by the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) and Xscape.

Last year, YWP narrowly missed out, landing second place, but the win is the latest triumph of Yorkshire's fastest growing and most innovative tourist attraction, which is also celebrating record visitor numbers.

Cheryl Williams, Director of Yorkshire Wildlife Park, said: ‘We are absolutely delighted to have been voted Yorkshire's Most Magnificent Attraction - this award means so much because it is decided by visitors.’

‘We opened YWP in April 2009 with specific goals – to become a dynamic conservation centre, working with communities at home and around the world to help save habitats and wildlife, and to provide our visitors with a unique experience.’

‘The biggest compliment from them is that they keep coming back and have voted us winners of this special award. That recognition really is indescribable.’

‘We are determined to retain the title next year. We are planning a number of exciting developments in the next year, including the arrival this month of giraffes – so the competition has better watch out!’

Meanwhile, despite the wettest summer ever and the lure of the Olympics on TV, visitors at YWP this year are at a new record – cementing the park’s place as the UK’s most exciting and fastest growing attraction.

Numbers are up an average of 10% per cent over 2011 – with an amazing 307,770 visitors by mid September.

The Park, which only opened in April 2009, attracted 323,000 guests in 2011, compared to 66,000 in the first year.

In addition the wildlife park has delivered a significant boost to tourism for Yorkshire since opening, generating a remarkable £3.4m to the region.

Director Cheryl Williams said: ’As many other businesses will testify the year has been extremely tough – with the Queen’s Jubilee, the Olympics, not to mention the weather.’

‘We are absolutely delighted that despite all this a record number of visitors have chosen to enjoy the unique walk through experience of YWP.’

YWP is aiming to keep on growing. Giraffes are the latest animals to be joining YWP later this month - and will live in a £350,000 state-of-the-art enclosure

The Giraffe enclosure follows the famous Leopard Heights, the world’s largest and most spectacular leopard enclosure. Home to Amur Leopards, the most endangered big cat on the planet, it is spectacularly designed with an 8 meter high viewing tower and 10-metre long glass viewing window.

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