Leeds MP hails Yorkshire’s tourism success
January 17, 2012 11:19 AM
MP for Leeds North West, Greg Mulholland MP, has tabled a Parliamentary motion congratulating Welcome to Yorkshire on being awarded one of world tourism's highest honours, for the second year running, for their success in marketing the region to visitors from across the globe.
The region's official tourism promoter won in the World's Leading Marketing Campaign category at the World Travel Awards, fending off competition from popular and high-profile destinations such as Abu Dhabi, South Africa and Spain.
Yorkshire's tourism industry, which welcomes 216million people each year, sustains a quarter of a million jobs across the region, annually pouring £7billion into the nation's economy. The value of visits from outside the UKs, moreover, has grown by 22%, seven times the figure for the nation as a whole.
Greg Mulholland MP commented:
"We all know that Yorkshire is a fascinating and exciting place, but for Welcome to Yorkshire to be recognised at such a level is a real credit to all those working so hard to bring visitors to our area. They are not only supporting jobs, but also helping people to find out more about this beautiful part of the world, with its famous history, dramatic landscapes and diverse arts & culture.
"Welcome to Yorkshire also deserves credit for recognising the place of new technologies and media, bringing the region to international attention through social media and a fully interactive website.
"I look forward to many of my fellow MPs joining me in this motion, to recognise the important work of Welcome to Yorkshire in contributing to the local and national economy, and to recognise the example which they have set to the rest of the country."
Gary Verity, Welcome to Yorkshire CEO, commented:
"We are grateful to all the thousands of tourism businesses who worked with us to achieve this amazing accolade. Politicians at a local and national level have seen the importance of tourism to Yorkshire's economy and we value that support."
The wording of the motion:
Welcome to Yorkshire's World Travel Award recognition
That this House:
Congratulates Welcome to Yorkshire, the official organisation for attracting visitors to Yorkshire, on winning the prestigious World Travel Award for the World's Leading Marketing Campaign for the second year running; notes that in winning this category, Welcome to Yorkshire has beaten a host of national tourism bodies from Abu Dhabi , Egypt, Brazil, India, South Africa and Spain, all high profile holiday destinations; further notes that the tourism industry in Yorkshire annually pumps £7 billion into the nation's economy, employing almost a quarter of a million people across 25,000 strong and vibrant businesses; welcomes the example set by the body in its use of innovative and diverse medias to attract some of the 216million people that visit Yorkshire each year, including the 25m people who have seen the Welcome to Yorkshire marketing campaigns, which sit alongside the effective use of social media and the development of and the development of its award-winning website; and urges other tourism bodies throughout the United Kingdom to emulate this example, so that they might make the most of the country's unique array of heritage, arts, sports and other attractions in straightened economic times just as Yorkshire has, with the county seeing a 22% rise in the value of international visits, compared to a 3% rise nationally- a truly extraordinary achievement on its own.
END
NOTE: Welcome to Yorkshire is the official destination management organisation for Yorkshire, is funded by Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency (charged with improving the Yorkshire and Humber economy), and Welcome to Yorkshire members.
Welcome to Yorkshire: www.yorkshire.com
World Travel Awards: www.worldtravelawards.com
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