BOLTON presenter Vernon Kay will be gracing the red carpet once again when he hosts the 2006 Manchester Tourism Awards on Thursday.

The awards aim to recognise and reward the high level of dedication to tourism throughout the Greater Manchester region.

The event will be held at Manchester International Convention Centre.

Andrew Stokes, chief executive of Marketing Manchester said: "The standard of entries has been extremely high, reflecting the excellent tourism product the city-region has to offer."

There are 13 categories including the Manchester Recommends Award which is chosen by local residents.