Westminster backing for future of Yorkshire Tourism
Published: 13 September 2011
Yorkshire MPs joined together in a show of cross party support to champion Yorkshire tourism in a Westminster debate and received the praise and backing of Tourism Minister John Penrose.
MPs from all sides including Nigel Adams (Selby and Ainsty), Andrew Jones (Harrogate & Knaresborough), Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West), Gerry Sutcliffe (Bradford South), Julian Sturdy (York Outer), Greg Knight (East Yorkshire) and Bradford-born Gloria de Piero, shadow Department for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Ashfield) gathered to hear a debate entitled Tourism in Yorkshire brought by the Selby and Ainsty MP Nigel Adams which received significant encouragement from the Minister on the future of Yorkshire tourism and its potential to rival London as an alternative destination.
John Penrose said: "Many congratulations to the people of Welcome to Yorkshire they are a very good example and one of which I am afraid I am boring the rest of the country with in quoting as an example of a high functioning ,well run and very effective local Destination Management Organisation and something I think Yorkshire can be proud of and they are going to be front and centre in this drive to establish Yorkshire as an alternative destination to London and one of the attack brands to attract people to different parts of the country rather than to just London."
Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: "The support and encouragement of the Tourism Minister for the work we have already done is great news for the 25,000 businesses in Yorkshire that rely on tourism for their livelihoods. We have a three-year business plan going forward from April 2012 and will continue to work on behalf of Yorkshire's tourism businesses in championing Yorkshire as a destination of choice and as a credible rival to London for a break."
Among several topics discussed the Minister also urged local businesses and local councils to join forces behind Welcome to Yorkshire to fund shared marketing campaigns to maximise exposure of the county and its tourism offering.
Penrose added: "It is clear that right across the county of Yorkshire there is a great degree of commitment to tourism, a high degree of pride in the kind of tourism opportunities which a county like Yorkshire can provide, a huge excitement in the potential which places like Yorkshire have, to put across the breadth and depth of their tourism offer to potential visitors and therefore become rivals to London and alternative centres for an extended stay and therefore I hope, and I'm sure everyone from Yorkshire will agree, that the potential opportunities for Yorkshire tourism are bright, the future looks very, very good indeed, there is still a huge amount of work in order to maximise those opportunities, but with the degree of cross party commitment and local pride clearly on offer I'm sure they will manage to do so."
Gary Verity added: "The foundations of a successful future for Yorkshire tourism have been laid in the last three years, we have a solid business plan for the next three years and we are now looking to future with confidence, moving forward together as a united industry representing the county nationally and internationally as a destination to rival London or any city or location in Europe or the rest of the world."
Editors' Notes:
- Welcome to Yorkshire is the official destination management organisation 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, and Welcome to Yorkshire members.
- 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
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