Yorkshire Evening Post

16 January 2012 - Yorkshire Evening Post

A CAMPAIGN to promote God’s Own County to the world has won a major travel prize.

The initiative to promote Yorkshire has been given the World Travel Award for the World’s Leading Marketing Campaign.

And it’s the second year running that Welcome to Yorkshire – which promotes tourism in our region – has taken home the honour.

The prestigious prize was handed out at the World Travel Awards ceremony in Doha, Qatar.

The campaign has beaten other bids to promote Abu Dhabi, Egypt, Brazil, India, South Africa, London and Scotland.

Welcome to Yorkshire’s marketing director, Peter Dodd, collected the award.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “Yorkshire is a world beater and winning this award for the second year running proves it.

“We have gone head-to-head with some of the best brands with bigger budgets than us and come out on top again.

“The award is testament to the 25,000 brilliant businesses that make up Yorkshire’s tourism industry. Their quality ensures we are able to compete on a global scale with the best in the world.

“It also shows how far we have come in three years since Welcome to Yorkshire launched, that we now judge ourselves against the world’s best and not just our competitors in the UK.”

It is estimated that 25m people have seen the Welcome to Yorkshire marketing campaigns and international trips to Yorkshire have risen by 22 per cent. Tourism brings £7bn to the regional economy each year.

The campaign’s success has been welcomed in the city.

A spokesperson for the Leeds, York & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce told the YEP: “Welcome to Yorkshire’s win is excellent news.

“Tourism is an important part of the local economy, providing a significant number of jobs and generating economic benefits that are felt across the region.

“The chamber would like to congratulate Gary Verity and his team for their excellent work in promoting the Yorkshire brand across the world.”

Source: Yorkshire Evening Post

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