THE Tour de Yorkshire has formalised as partnership with the Santos Tour Down Under (TDU), which will see both events promoted globally.
This will strengthen the already great relationship between Yorkshire and Australia to share knowledge and access to each event.
The partnership was confirmed yesterday, on the eve of the 2016 Tour de Yorkshire event’s opening stage which will finish in Settle at about 4.30pm.
Welcome to Yorkshire’s Chief Executive, Sir Gary Verity and Minister for Tourism, Leon Bignell said the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding opened up the events to a new audience.
Sir Gary added: "The Tour de Yorkshire is just two years young and very successful, attracting huge crowds and benefits to the region but we also are keen to learn from others and share our knowledge. Working in collaboration with the Santos Tour Down Under will provide us both with a global platform to promote our events."
In 2015 the first edition of the Tour de Yorkshire - which passed through parts of South Craven - attracted over 1.5 million spectators and brought a £50 million boost to the regional economy.
Minister for Tourism in Australia Leon Bignall said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for the TDU to work on a global scale telling our story to the Tour of Yorkshire audience and vice versa. The 2016 Santos Tour Down Under injected a record $49.6 million into the state’s visitor economy and created 613 full-time equivalent jobs as well as attracting a record number of spectators with 795,000 lining the streets.
"Today’s announcement is about further increasing awareness of both events, sharing knowledge and increasing our marketing on a global scale.’
One of the first key initiatives of this new partnership will be the presence of the Santos Tour Down Under in the Tour de Yorkshire publicity caravan this year. The TDU will travel in an ‘Oppy the Kangaroo’ inspired branded vehicle giving out yellow Australian ‘road signs’ to promote awareness of the 2017 event.
* Email your pictures of the Tour coming through Craven to news@cravenherald.co.uk
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