Welcome to Yorkshire has launched a new business tourism initiative to encourage even more meetings and event business into Yorkshire.
Yorkshire.com/venues will focus on promoting the best business tourism venues throughout the county.
With over 440 venues to choose from, Yorkshire offers an extraordinary range of inspiring venues for successful events, from purpose built convention centres to award winning out-of-the-ordinary venues and magnificent country houses in truly stunning locations. 2010 saw an estimated 177,400 business events attended by 10.5m visitors in Yorkshire and Humber adding to the county tourism economy.
Welcome to Yorkshire has used its award winning website Yorkshire.com to deliver impressive increases in leisure tourism. Figures show that during August 2012 visits to Yorkshire.com were up 22% compared to the previous month. The new business tourism website hopes to add to this success by driving traffic to Yorkshire.com/venues
Yorkshire.com has won the TravelMole Web Awards 2009 and 2010 for The Best Tourist Board website and the TravelMole Web Award 2010 for the Best Use of Video on a website.
The new website has different ways to search for venues and it will contain them listed by location and by type such as academic, sporting and unique venues, making it easier for people to find their ideal conference facility.
Welcome to Yorkshire will be working with event buyers throughout Yorkshire, attending key industry exhibitions and will hold industry events to promote business tourism in the county. Welcome to Yorkshire aims to support its members with business tourism programmes, help with marketing, support ambassador programmes, experts, business leaders, academics and innovators from every field when bidding for conferences, meetings and exhibitions.
Welcome to Yorkshire is working with the new conference bureau in Scarborough, helping to promote the coast as a great place to hold a conference.
Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire said:
Over the last three years we’ve done a great deal of work trying to drive those all important conferences and business meetings to Yorkshire because we realise their value to the region’s tourism economy.
Yorkshire.com is one of the most successful tourism websites in the country so we hope to add to this success with the launch of Yorkshire.com/venues.
The site will also contain a section giving details of where to get expert advice, a media centre and it includes a section covering suggested leisure activities visitors can enjoy in Yorkshire when on a business trip. There’s also a jobs section advertising vacancies at venues around Yorkshire.
You can visit the new site at www.yorkshire.com/venues
