RYEDALE’S holiday industry – believed to be worth £100m a year to the district – will benefit from a new five-year strategy.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, which is spearheading the plan, said in the organisation’s annual report: “The strategy should result in a more coherent approach to development and investment, and a secure plan to fund out core promotional activities.”

He said the organisation is gearing up for next year’s Tour de France Grand Depart from Yorkshire, which, he said, is likely to have benefits for Ryedale, even though it would not be coming through the area.

“Millions more will be introduced to Yorkshire’s wonderful landscapes, picturesque villages and vibrant towns and cities through television coverage,” he said.

“Our aim in the next year will be to ensure that the greatest economy and social legacy is derived from Le Tour Yorkshire.”

Mr Verity said Welcome to Yorkshire is seeing new business membership and corporate partnerships emerging.

The organisation has mounted a string of campaigns to boost Yorkshire’s £7bn a year tourist industry.

International, national and region publicity for the organisation had been worth £40m in the past year, which has benefited hundreds of tourism enterprises in Ryedale and Scarborough, as well as the rest of the county.

However, giving Yorkshire such a high profile had come at a cost, said Mr Verity, which had resulted in Welcome to Yorkshire suffering a loss of £1.1m in the last financial year.

But, said Mr Verity, Yorkshire had won the title of the world’s leading marketing campaign for the third successive year, and also won top European travel awards in marketing and website design.