THE REVAMPED Lancashire Tourism Awards are set to be presented this year by celebrity travel writer Simon Calder.

The awards, which celebrate the £3.4billion brought to the local economy by tourism, are now set to mark their 10th anniversary.

Marketing Lancashire, which is organising the ceremony due to take place at Blackburn Cathedral, decided a revamp was needed to make the event more reflective of the significant amount of revenue that tourism brings in.

Ruth Connor, chief executive of Marketing Lancashire, said: “We now have more categories than ever before, a new judging process and a fantastic new landmark venue in Blackburn’s developing cultural quarter.”

The ceremony will take place on Thursday, November 7 when the £25m regeneration of the Cathedral Quarter, due to start in September, will be well under way.

The new-look town centre area will include a hotel, restaurants, shops and the first clergy court and cloister garden at a major church building for 570 years.

Simon Calder is the senior travel editor of the The Independent and also regularly contributes to the BBC World Service as well as various television programmes.

He will present all the awards including the new categories, which include best wedding venue, retail experience, luxury experience, cultural venue/organisation, as well as an award for those offering the best experience for group travellers.

Previous winners from East Lancashire include The Millstone at Mellor, which won the Tourism Pub Award and Simon Entwistle, a tour guide from Top Hat Tours who won the Special Recognition Award for his entertaining ‘witch tours’ at Pendle Hill.

Ruth Connor said: “Lancashire has something for everyone, appealing to a wide range of visitors with many different motivations for visiting.

“So whether you’re from London, Lisbon or Longridge, there are 100s of reasons to visit.”

To enter, download the relevant application form at lancashiretourismawards.com