At an awards ceremony in Brighton, the Milton Keynes-based all-electric community boat was awarded Silver in the New Tourism Business of the Year category.
Toby Anstis, announced the award, which was sponsored by Voltshare.
According to the judges, this category of the Beautiful South Tourism Awards was “in recognition of high performing new tourism businesses, demonstrating excellent understanding of their market, exceeding the expectations of their customers with clear plans for future development”.
The Award was presented to Electra volunteers at the boat’s mooring at Campbell Wharf this morning on Thursday 14th November, by Kim Hallett, Tourism South East’s Board member.
Speaking at the presentation, Kim Hallett said, “I am delighted to be able to present this award to the crew of the community boat. It’s a fantastic project and richly deserves recognition in the silver category.
Accepting the Award, Chair of the Electra Volunteers Team, Denise Taylor, said: “We are thrilled to bits by this wonderful recognition of all the hard work our 40-strong team has put into Electra since the idea of an all-electric community boat for Milton Keynes was first mooted in 2019. Together we’ve created a successful social enterprise with growing impact in the locality.”
Volunteer cabin host, James Clifton, said, “We were delighted to be recognised, alongside Bletchley Park, as one of only two finalists from Buckinghamshire. So far, 6,000 people have been able to experience a completely different view of Milton Keynes. Our peaceful cruises on the Grand Union Canal have wide appeal. We are also growing our programme of sponsored cruises for schools, care homes and community groups in need.”