Racing certainty

Welcome to Yorkshire's headline sponsorship of the four-day Ebor Festival is good news for York Racecourse – one of the best tracks in the world, with facilities to match, and which played host to the incomparable Sea The Stars, arguably the greatest racehorse of all-time, at last year's meeting. This financial backing can only enhance the reputation of the track.

There's also a winning dividend for the wider economy. Guaranteed terrestrial television coverage, and the worldwide publicity that the Festival enjoys each year, will generate huge publicity spin-offs for not just York but the whole region.

This deal will help to take the "Yorkshire" brand to a whole new audience, and can only benefit the leisure and tourism industry for years to come – certainly far longer than it takes a horse to win a five furlong sprint on the hallowed Knavesmire.

As such, this deal offers value for money. And, given the foreboding economic backdrop, the financial return will become even more important as tourism leaders, and others, promote Yorkshire as the "number one" holiday destination.

There must not be any let-up in this momentum. For, given the importance of tourism to the region's economy, new and innovative campaigns will be required to enhance visitor numbers still further – and the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival will be a successful and effective way of helping to achieve this objective.