Video: Yorkshire takes tourism crown, but what’s your favourite spot?

Yorkshire’s stunning countryside and coastline and its vibrant cities were among the attractions that earned it the title of Leading European Destination at the World Travel Awards.

The dramatic landscapes of the Dales and North York Moors national parks helped the region to stand out from rivals including scenic Venice and Amsterdam, while its culture and culinary offerings were more than a match for the likes of Berlin and Barcelona.

The award, regarded as the tourism equivalent of an Oscar, is another coup for the region, which is already braced for a surge in visitor numbers following its successful bid to host the opening stages of the Tour de France next year.

Gary Verity, chief executive of tourism organisation Welcome to Yorkshire, which led the bid, said the region’s profile had never been higher given the international exposure it was now receiving thanks to the Grand Départ.

It is a “hidden gem” to most Europeans, who previously knew little about the area, he added.

“They are pleasantly surprised with the different types of scenery they see here - the coast, the Dales, the moors and the Peak District - and the cities as well,” he said.

“There is a stereotype of Yorkshire that it is all old mills and when they come here they see it’s quite trendy really.

“And of course we’ve got some great architecture in places like York and a lot of heritage, with more monastic ruins than anywhere else in Europe.”

With more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other county in the UK and quality local produce ranging from rhubarb to real ale, the region’s rich food and drink pickings were also helping to lure in visitors, he said.

And he added: “If you throw that together with the people here, who are very friendly, and the warm welcome they give, we have got the winning formula.”

It is the first time in the history of the awards - now in their 20th year - that the prize has gone to a region rather than a country or a major city. Other nominees this year included London, Madrid, Florence, Istanbul, Lisbon and St Petersburg.

Capping off an already successful night for the region at the ceremony in Antalya, Turkey, Welcome to Yorkshire also brought home the prize for best marketing campaign, beating industry heavyweights such as Jet2, Thomas Cook and Thomson.

“We are very pleased with that,” said Mr Verity.

“We try and do the best we can on relatively limited resources but we are lucky that under Peter Dodd’s leadership we have got a very strong marketing team.

“It’s a real validation of both Welcome to Yorkshire’s work and the efforts of the thousands of attractions, restaurants, accommodation providers and other tourism businesses which make this county great.”

The organisation is the only winner to have clinched the prize twice, having previously won the same award in 2011.

But it will not be resting on its laurels and is now focused on ensuring Yorkshire lives up to its new title as more than a million spectators line the region’s streets and another 2bn TV viewers tune in to watch the first two stages of the world’s biggest cycling race unfold here next July.

“Our job at Welcome to Yorkshire now is making sure when the Tour de France does arrive here we are the leading destination in Europe,” said Mr Verity.

“I think it is about using that opportunity as a springboard.

“There will be huge coverage of Yorkshire next summer and it is about using that as a catalyst not just for tourism but for more inward investment as well.”

Hosting the Grand Départ is forecast to be worth around £100m to Yorkshire’s economy with a particular boost for the tourism industry.

Around 5,000 hotel rooms will be required for the cyclists, their back-up crew and the Tour entourage alone.

Teams will be officially unveiled at the new Leeds Arena on July 3 in front of 2,000 journalists, bringing unprecedented publicity to the region.

The peleton will set off from Leeds, the event’s official host city, to Harrogate on July 5 before starting in York and finishing in Sheffield the following day.

Mr Verity said: “It’s fantastic to see Yorkshire taking its rightful place as one of the top holiday destinations in Europe. This is one of the biggest awards in international tourism, and I’m very proud to see Yorkshire at the top.”

Welcome to Yorkshire has won 7 European and World Travel Awards since it launched in 2009 beating globally recognised travel brands and some of the world’s leading destination management organisations.