Yorkshire scoops best in Europe travel award

The county overcame stiff competition from a range of capital cities including London, Berlin and Madrid to win Europe’s Leading Destination at the World Travel Awards in Antalya, Turkey.

Capping an already successful ceremony for Yorkshire, the county’s tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire was also recognised, winning Europe’s Leading Marketing Campaign for the second time.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “It’s fantastic to see Yorkshire taking its rightful place as one of the top holiday destinations in Europe. 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.”

These wins are a major coup; Yorkshire is the first location other than a major city or country to have won Europe’s Best Destination in 17 years of the award, and Welcome to Yorkshire is the first to have won Best Marketing Campaign twice.

Mr Verity added: “News of this award comes off the back of a fantastic year already for Yorkshire and the growing excitement about Yorkshire’s hosting of the 2014 Grand Depart of the Tour de France. 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 world 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.