London Tower Bridge wins gold accolade in England tourism awards
November 4, 2021, 8:40 am

London Tower Bridge wins gold accolade in England tourism awards

UK-London-London bridge/Pixabay

The Xinhua reported, it was announced Wednesday that London's iconic Tower Bridge has won a coveted gold accolade in Visit England's excellence awards.

The Xinhua said, the exhibition at the bridge over the River Thames gives tourists the chance to experience panoramic views of London from a a high-level walkway with a glass floor, as well as visit the drawbridge's Victorian engine room.

It mentioned that the tourist attraction was one of 26 Gold winners in Visit England's 2021 awards, which also give accolades for hidden gems, the best-told stories, quality of welcome and food quality.

According to the Xinhua, the awards are based on the scores gained by tourist attractions in their annual assessments by VisitEngland, which were nevertheless delayed this year due to the COVID Pandemic.

The latest forecasts by VisitBritain show that domestic spending on tourism is estimated at 51.4 billion pounds (70 billion U.S. dollars) this year, only a little more than half the amount spent in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic struck.

A spokesperson for VisitBritain said: "Last year alone saw about two-thirds of the value wiped off the domestic tourism industry in Britain, a 58 billion pound (79 billion U.S. dollar) loss to the economy."

VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said: "Now more than ever we need these attractions to encourage and remind us to get out and explore the amazing tourism on offer across England, driving recovery and economic benefits through the regions."

Other Gold award winners included the King Richard III visitor center in Leicester, the National Horse Racing Museum in Newmarket, Chester Zoo, Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral, the World War II code-breaking center at Bletchley Park, the National Arboretum at Tetbury, the World of Wedgwood (pottery), and for chocolate lovers, Cadbury World in Birmingham.

Source: xinhua

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.