Yorkshire entrepreneur joins award winning tourism team
Published: 2 September 2011
A local entrepreneur is flying the flag for Yorkshire tourism, adding to the host of high profile names championing the county's cause.
Originally from Hull, Shaun Watts is delighted to have joined the award winning team at Welcome to Yorkshire as a non executive director and is set to bring his skills and expertise to Yorkshire's tourism offer.
Mr Watts said: "I have offices based in Hull and York, and the attractions and city life are a constant reminder of what great business and leisure destinations they are. Match this with my love of Yorkshire and an inner passion to bring investment into the county and you're halfway to explaining why I'm so excited to be joining Welcome to Yorkshire."
In addition to running his own business, Chameleon Business Interiors - which launched in 1998, Mr Watts is also a keen advocate for businesses to work together to bring positive economic change to the county. The former president of Leeds York & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce is also an advisory group member of the Hull Bondholder scheme, and board member of York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
He added: "I am very much looking forward to working with Welcome to Yorkshire's members and its partners and hope to have a direct impact on the fortunes of the county's tourism industry."
Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: "We are absolutely delighted to welcome Shaun onto the Welcome to Yorkshire board. His level of expertise is just what we need moving forward. Yorkshire tourism has been bucking national trends over the last couple of years and with a strong team we aim to ensure we continue to do so in the future."
ENDS
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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