Slideshow: Yorkshire honours its tourism royalty

Almost a thousand people, including celebrity guests from Emmerdale and those who helped with the bid for the Tour de France Grand Depart, attended the major ceremony at the Yorkshire Event Centre, in Harrogate, which saw winners crowned in sixteen categories.

The White Rose Awards, run by Welcome to Yorkshire and backed by the Yorkshire Post, are the biggest tourism awards in the UK and have been recognising tourism stars for more than 25 years.

Independent Chair of Judges, Professor Colin Mellors, said: “It’s always a genuine pleasure to see the delight on the faces of the winners and the highly commended as these awards mean so much to tourism businesses.”

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “It’s been an historic year for Yorkshire.”

The Wold Cottage, Driffield, won B&B Guest Accommodation of the Year; Harrogate International Centre won Business Tourism; while Large Hotel of the Year went to The Coniston Hotel & Country Estate, Skipton and Large Visitor Attraction went to The Deep, Hull.

Yorkshire Pub of the Year went to The Castle Inn, Skipton, Yorkshire Restaurant of the Year went to Yorebridge House, Bainbridge, while The Talbot Hotel, Malton, won Small Hotel of the Year and the Small Visitor Attraction award went to The World of James Herriot, Thirsk.

A number of other businesses were also highly commended. A full list of White Rose Awards winners can be seen at www.whiteroseawards.com.