Blackpool Tourism Academy gets green light

Blackpool has secured £1m to set up a new Tourism Academy aimed at raising the skills of people who work in the resort’s visitor economy.

The consortium, led by Blackpool Pleasure Beach, includes Merlin Entertainments which operates Blackpool Tower, Sealife Centre and Madame Tussauds; Cuerden Leisure which runs the Winter Gardens, two piers and arcades; Blackpool Transport Services which runs the resort’s buses and trams; as well as the award winning Sandcastle Waterpark and Blackpool Zoo.

Nigel Kilgallon, chair of the Blackpool Tourism Academy Board and director at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, said: “Blackpool Tourism Academy is a consortium of key leisure attractions within the UK’s premier seaside resort dedicated to boosting the skills of its seasonal and year round workforce.

The training available will range from customer service, supervisory and management programmes, to spectator management, gaming awareness, selling techniques and passenger carrying. Over 2,500 training places will be available to staff within the academy founding employers alone. Courses will feature participants from across several businesses at once, and will be hosted at a range of employer venues.