COURSES in giving a warm Yorkshire welcome are being offered to businesses.

Tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire is launching Yorkshire Pride courses to help firms ensure their staff make visitors feel at home.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “We pride ourselves on giving people a warm Yorkshire welcome to the great county which has helped drive up visitor numbers.

“These courses are another way of helping support the fantastic tourism businesses we have here and ultimately continuing to build on growing visitor numbers, which in turn benefits the Yorkshire economy.”

The courses will be run in venues across the county and are available to members of Welcome to Yorkshire.

Kim Broderick, who helped devise the courses at the agency, said: “I’ve been working in tourism for nearly 30 years and am confident these specialist courses will play a key part in helping raise visitor numbers and get those allimportant repeat visitors for our businesses.”

The Yorkshire Pride courses aim to make sure visitors have a great experience, and encourage their friends and family to visit.

The courses also look at the strength and variety of Yorkshire as a tourist destination and how good ideas can be shared. For more information, visit yorkshire.com