Yorkshire named top UK holiday destination as worldwide reputation grows

IT’S official – Yorkshire is the best holiday destination in the UK according to the World Travel Awards which has, once again, honoured the endeavours of the region’s cash-hit tourism body.

The white rose county beat destinations like Cornwall, Cumbria, Scotland and Wales to be crowned Britain’s top leisure location at a prestigious ceremony.

Welcome to Yorkshire also won the marketing innovation award for its work promoting an industry that is worth £7bn a year to the region and which helps to underpin nearly 250,000 jobs.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The awards boost comes at a pivotal time for the region-wide body which has missed out on vital funding because of the Government’s decision to start allocating money to individual cities like in Leeds and York.

It is now campaigning to bring the Tour de France to the county in 2014 and strongly believes that it is the only organisation which can work in the interests of tourism across the whole region.

More than 216 million people visit Yorkshire each year because of the quality of attractions and hospitality which were celebrated at the White Rose Awards last week.

Welcome to Yorkshire has now won five categories at the World Travel Awards in three years and chief executive Gary Verity said bullishly: “We have beaten whole countries to win the main award, places with bigger marketing budgets than us, and proved why Yorkshire is the best holiday destination in the UK.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The win is testament to all the thousands of fantastic businesses we have in Yorkshire that time and again put the county on the map for millions of holidaymakers, not just in Britain, but the world over.

“The marketing innovation award just goes to show the work we do on behalf of the Yorkshire tourism industry to keep the county at the forefront of people’s minds, which is especially important in these tough economic times.”

Today Adam Raphael and Desmond Balmer, joint editors of the Good Hotel Guide, condemned David Cameron for breaking his pre-election promise to help the leisure industry; the post of tourism minister was abolished in last month’s reshuffle and funding cut by a fifth. Both accused the PM of failing to exploit the “golden opportunity” created by the Diamond Jubilee and the successful staging of the London Olympics, a view shared by Mr Verity.