Freedom and Clipper Grand Prix win
Prestigious praise has been heaped on last year's Hull Freedom and Clipper weekend after the event scooped two high profile awards.
The team behind the three-day spectacular, which include Hull City Council, Visit Hull and East Yorkshire and Yorkshire Forward, picked up the 'Business Event' of the year, as well as the overall 'Grand Prix' award at the Insider Business Tourism Awards 2010, despite facing stiff competition.
A record number of entries were received for this year's awards which celebrate the best in tourism across Yorkshire with eight categories.
The awards recognise the engagement Freedom and Clipper had with the business community during the weekend last September. Local businesses were fully involved in events, had exclusive access to some of the attractions, and many recorded record turnover.
Leader of Hull City Council, Councillor Carl Minns, said: "I am delighted that the Freedom and Clipper weekend has been recognised in these awards, and that the team behind them have received deserved acknowledgement.
"The local business community were key to the success of the festival and the whole city benefited from the unprecedented number of visitors and the profile-raising opportunities the event presented."
Janet Reuben, Chief Executive of Visit Hull and East Yorkshire, said: "Last year's Freedom and Clipper weekend was an incredible success attracting visitors from across the globe and supporting local businesses. I'm very proud that this event has been recognised in this way."
Yorkshire Forward was responsible for bringing the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race to the region. Sarah Pearson, Assistant Director of Humber at Yorkshire Forward commented; "I am delighted the Freedom and Clipper Weekend has picked up the Best Event of the Year and The Grand Prix Award. These awards were won because of the extraordinary positive impact the event had on the region's economy and its international profile - both reasons why we brought Clipper to the region."
Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, is also delighted with the good news. He said: "This is a fantastic accolade which proves that by working together the Yorkshire tourism industry truly is a force to be reckoned with. Congratulations to everyone involved."
The Freedom and Clipper weekend was a massive success; 150,000 visitors attended and £9.3m was generated for the region's economy. Over the course of the weekend, most city centre businesses experienced busier periods of trade; most bed spaces were full; it was difficult to find a restaurant, cafe or bar with a spare seat and despite ordering extra stock many takeaways ran out of food. The average spend on accommodation was £120, while the average spend per person per day on transport, food, drink, attractions and shopping was £41.96.
Freedom and Clipper was overall winner of the 'Business Event' award. Also shortlisted were; Sensoria 2009, which was held at Ponds Forge in Sheffield and the Enjoy England Awards for Excellence 2009 at the National Railway Museum in York.
The team also scooped the overall 'Grand Prix' award, which is selected from the winners from each award.
