Rhinos star shows off hometown sights
Published: 30 March 2011
Leeds Rhinos rugby stars swapped tries for tours this week to relaunch the Leeds City Sightseeing Bus.
The service was first launched last year by Welcome to Yorkshire - the county's official tourism agency - to help promote the city as a tourism destination, and it returns this weekend to run daily services throughout the summer.
To celebrate, Leeds Rhinos star and Leeds lad Carl Ablett gave his new teammate, New Zealander Weller Hauraki, a whistle stop tour of his home city on board the bus.
After welcoming aboard thousands of passengers last year, the service has now been extended to run seven trips a day, with 13 stops - making it easier to hop on and hop off.
It will take in city sights on the five-mile route including Millennium Square, the Corn Exchange, City Square and Victoria Quarter.
Tickets for the service will be frozen at last year's prices, with discounts for seniors, students and children. Tickets are also valid for 24 hours.
Gary Verity, Welcome to Yorkshire's Chief Executive, said: "We're delighted to be able to support the bus's return for 2011. Last year, more than 90% of passengers rated the overall experience of the tour as good or excellent which bodes well for this year.
"This service is about promoting the city as a leading tourism destination to support city centre businesses and help strengthen the tourism economy. The bus is popular with visiting groups, like sports fans, so it's great to have the Rhinos help us relaunch the service."
Rhinos star, Carl Ablett, said: "It's great to be able to showcase our fantastic city and offer visitors and local people a different view of it - and you can learn something new too."
Weller Hauraki, who moved to Leeds this winter, said: "Being new to the city, it's always good to get to know what's going on and where there is to visit, so the sightseeing tour is perfect for that."
The bus is being run in partnership with Transdev, who also run a sightseeing tour in York.
The bus launches this Saturday, April 2, and will run until October. For details of timetables and prices, visit www.yorkshire.com/sightseeing
- ENDS -
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 £7 billion annually
• The county's industry employs almost a quarter of a million people
• There are 216 million visits to Yorkshire each year
For more news and a free image bank www.yorkshire.com/mediacentre
For further information contact:
Graham Poucher - Press Officer
Email: gpoucher@yorkshire.com
Direct Line: 0113 322 3578
Mobile: 07805 958728
Jo Francisco - Press Officer
Email: jfrancisco@yorkshire.com
Direct Line: 0113 322 3563
Mobile: 07769257327