Events bonanza for Sheffield
Published: 24 December 2010
Sheffield looks set to start 2011 with a bang as the county's tourism agency is predicting a bumper year of major events for the city.
Welcome to Yorkshire - the county's official and award-winning tourism agency - has driven up the value of tourism for the whole county to around £7bn from £5.9bn in just two years.
Part of this work is to financially support major events across the county, particularly in Sheffield which is hosting a growing number of world-class offerings.
Welcome to Yorkshire has announced it is supporting six major sporting events in Sheffield during 2011 including the World Snooker Championships 2011, World Short Track Speed Skating Championship, Yorkshire International Show Jumping Event, English Open International Table Tennis, Fina World Diving and European Fencing Championships.
But there are now growing fears for backing further major events like those in Sheffield as question marks appear over future tourism funding.
Welcome to Yorkshire is facing a possible reduction in funding, meaning vital funds which go towards supporting major events such as the World Snooker Championships, FINA World Diving championships and Sports Personality of the Year may be in jeopardy in the future.
Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: "2011 promises to be one of the biggest years of major sporting events for Sheffield in particular - which will contribute hugely to the local economy and benefit the whole South Yorkshire area.
"And we are proud to support Sheffield and its bid to become one of the leading cities for major events.
"But if we are hit with a funding cut it may mean we won't have the funds to support key sporting events like these."
Tourism is worth around £500m to Sheffield and the city welcomes approximately 16m people a year, with major sporting events alone worth around £6m to the Sheffield economy.
For more information on events visit www.yorkshire.com
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Editors' Notes:
- Welcome to Yorkshire is the official tourism agency for Yorkshire, working to grow the county's visitor economy.
- Welcome to Yorkshire is funded by Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency charged with improving the Yorkshire and Humber economy.
- Key facts include:
- Tourism in Yorkshire is worth around £7 billion annually
- The county's industry employs almost a quarter of a million people
- There are 209 million visits to Yorkshire each year
Please take a look at www.yorkshire.com/mediacentre where you will find Welcome to Yorkshire news, feature suggestions, a free image bank and much more.