05/10/2010

Issued by: Welcome to Yorkshire

Forget the bright lights of London and sunny shores of Spain, a campaign to boost tourism in Yorkshire has been voted the best in Europe.

Welcome to Yorkshire was last night (FRIDAY) named Europe's Leading Marketing Campaign at the most sought-after awards in the travel and tourism industry.

The win was announced at a glittering World Travel Awards Europe Gala Ceremony in Turkey before tourism chiefs and Government ministers.

Welcome to Yorkshire beat off fierce competition from Thomas Cook, Visit London and Expedia.com as well as marketing campaigns in Denmark and Spain to take the title. (Full list below)

Last year's winner was Virgin Atlantic for their "25 Years Still Red Hot" campaign.

More than 25m people have seen the TV adverts for Yorkshire; just one of a string of high-profile promotions led by Welcome to Yorkshire.

Last night Peter Dodd International Sales Director at Welcome to Yorkshire collected the award at the red-carpet event at Rixos Premium Belek, in Antalya.

He said: "This is an absolutely phenomenal feat for us. We have beaten off some tough competition from seven other tourism bodies across Europe but we have worked hard to plant Yorkshire firmly in the public eye and on the tourist map and this award reflects that.

"Since we launched Welcome to Yorkshire 18 months ago, our team and our partners have pulled out all the stops to spread the word that our county really is the best in Britain and now we have proved this by beating the rest of Europe!"

All eyes are now on the ultimate accolade of winning the World's Leading Tourist Board 2010 when Welcome to Yorkshire goes head-to-head with 15 other contenders from across the globe.

Yorkshire will be pitted against the likes of tourist agencies from Abu Dhabi, Australia, Dubai Jamaica, India, the Maldives, South Africa and New York for the prestigious World Travel Award trophy.

The winner will be announced at the World Travel Awards in London on November 7.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire said: "Yorkshire can be very proud already as we are the only body in England to be nominated for the World's Leading Tourist Board award.

"We are a leading example to the rest of the country of how successful tourism can be and we are proud to have helped catapult Yorkshire onto the global stage.

"Tonight Welcome to Yorkshire has been independently voted the best marketing campaign in Europe and I know we are the best tourist agency for the best county in the world. We just need your help in reaching our goal.

"Please cast your vote for us - it closes on October 8. We need your support to spread the Yorkshire message to the rest of the world that we are the number one tourist destination in the UK."

Go to: www.worldtravelawards.com/award-worlds-leading-tourist-board-2010

Launched in 1993, the World Travel Awards have been described by the Wall Street Journal as the ‘Oscars' of the global travel and tourism industry; helping to improve quality, value and customer service.

This year, a staggering 185,000 travel industry professionals took part in the voting process which is both monitored and independently audited.

Welcome to Yorkshire was among 5,000 nominated companies across more than 1,000 categories, including airlines, cruise companies, destinations, resorts and hotels in 162 countries.

Consumers use the list of winners as a reliable guide when choosing their holiday while the winners receive commercial benefits and a global profile.

FULL LIST OF NOMINEES FOR EUROPE'S LEADING MARKETING CAMPAIGN

Expedia.com - "Where you book matters"

Spanish Institute of Tourism - Spain, a country to share...

STA Travel - iPhone campaign

The Hans Brinker Budget Hotel Amsterdam - The Worst Hotel in the World

Thomas Cook - 2010 Marketing Campaign

Visit London - Only In London

VisitDenmark & Expedia - Joint Campaign

Yorkshire.com - Welcome to Yorkshire

FULL LIST OF WORLD'S LEADING TOURIST BOARD NOMINEES, IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER:

Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority; Cancun Conventions & Visitors Bureau; Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing Government of Dubai; India Tourism; Jamaica Tourist Board; Johannesburg Tourism Company; Las Vegas CVB; Maldives Tourism Promotion Board; New York - NYC & Company; PromPeru - Peruvian Tourism Board; South Africa Tourism; Tourism Australia; Tourism Malaysia; Turkish Culture & Tourism Office; VisitBritain; Welcome To Yorkshire.

- ENDS

Editors' Notes:

Welcome to Yorkshire is the official tourism body 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.

Key facts include:
Tourism in Yorkshire is worth £6.5 billion annually
The region's industry employs a quarter of a million people
There are 209 million visits to Yorkshire each year
Please take a look at yorkshire.com/mediacentre where you will find Welcome to Yorkshire news, feature suggestions, a free image bank and much more.

For further information contact:

Jo Francisco - Press Officer

Email: jfrancisco@yorkshire.com

Direct Line: 0113 322 3563

Mobile: 07769257327

Dee Marshall - Head of Communications

Email: dmarshall@yorkshire.com

Direct Line: 0113 3223505

Mobile: 07950 325 901