06/10/2009

John Yeomans, Chairman of Visit York, will this week address an audience of high profile tourism leaders at an international tourism conference to be held in Nis in Serbia.  Nis is the third largest Serbian city, about 250km south from Belgrade and was the birthplace of Constantine the Great, who became Emperor of Rome in York in 306 AD.

Organised and hosted by the Nis Investment Forum, this international conference on October 9th, will attract government officials from Austria, Italy, France and Serbia, where ways in which to transform Serbia's cultural legacy into successful economic development will be discussed.  

As a result of the conference it is planned that Visit York will be able to establish a network of cultural experts who will come together to discuss how to maximize the shared heritage connected with Constantine the Great.  Tourism leaders from Italy, Austria and France will be approached to work together on a partnership project titled, 'Discovering European Heritage through Constantine the Great'.

The project's aim would be to promote European cultural heritage through following the legacy of Constantine the Great.  If tourism leaders back the scheme, Nis will seek European funding for this trans-national venture.  A delegation of tourism officials from Nis visited Yorkshire last week, when they met with Janet Barnes, Head of York Museums Trust, to discuss their ideas in more detail.

Chairman of Visit York, John Yeomans said, ‘York's reputation as a leader in tourism marketing is reaching out far and wide.  One of the keys to Visit York's success is our vision and openness to new ideas.  There are clear links between York, Nis and other European partners, with regards to the Constantine connection and we're keen to discuss the possibility of a pan European approach, maximizing the potential of this important piece of our cultural heritage.'

As part of his address to the conference John will also be highlighting how York successfully combines outstanding heritage with a strong tourism industry and will share Visit York's views on best tourism practice with other delegates.  John will be joined at the conference by speakers Mr Jean Francois Terral, Ambassador of France, Mr Gerhard Jandl, Ambassador of Austria, Milos Simonovic, Mayor of the City of Nis and representatives from the Serbian government. 

George Tokos of UK consultants Tokos Solutions, who are assisting Serbia, approached Visit York to address this high profile conference.  George said, ‘We've been working in Serbia for several years and were aware of the Constantine link.  We'd also heard of York's tourism success, particularly the Best UK City accolade with the Telegraph this year.  We therefore felt our invitation to Visit York would be extremely timely and hope both cities will benefit by sharing ideas for future collaboration and cultural know-how.'  ENDS