Spa town set to host ceremony recognising stars of region’s tourism industry

A GLITZY ceremony recognising the stars of the Yorkshire tourism industry will have a new home this year, it has been announced.

The White Rose Awards, the UK’s largest celebration of tourism, will take place at the new £11m Hall 1 at the Yorkshire Event Centre in Harrogate. More than 1,000 guests will enjoy the first awards dinner to be held at the centre’s newly-built exhibition and events hall on November 21.

The ceremony, hosted by Welcome to Yorkshire, will see more than 100 businesses go head to head across 17 categories, more than ever before.

These include gongs for hotels, recognising top customer service and highlighting the winning Taste of Yorkshire.

Colin Mellors, chairman of the White Rose Award judges, said: “Yorkshire’s tourism is a remarkable sector with fantastic hospitality, facilities and produce on offer.

“Those shortlisted should feel very proud to have been selected against such strong competition. Choosing the eventual winners this year will be a really tough task.”

Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, added: “It is an honour to be hosting the first ever awards dinner at the new events hall at the Yorkshire Event Centre.

“The White Rose Awards always make for a memorable evening, so this year promises to be extra special.”

He said that the entries for the awards had been “exceptional across all categories”.

“The standard of entries just gets better every year, so huge congratulations to all those who have made the shortlist. I look forward to meeting them all in November.”

Tickets for the event are now on sale via www.whiteroseawards.com.