TOURISM chiefs have revealed plans to sponsor a national television series and use Facebook to attract more visitors.

Officials in Yorkshire say they want to make the county one of the world’s top visitor destinations.

A campaign titled A long weekend in Yorkshire isn’t long enough, has been launched.

Yorkshire Tourist Board, which has been renamed as Welcome to Yorkshire, intends to use the internet to promote the county, including social networking site Facebook.

The message will be further spread through television commercials, as well as cinema and newspaper advertisements.

A sponsorship deal with ITV drama Heartbeat has also been agreed, which it is hoped will help to sell the “come to Yorkshire” message – even though production of the show, filmed in Goathland on the North York Moors, has been halted for the time being.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, hopes the campaign will generate a £300m increase in income from visitors every year.

At present, the Yorkshire tourism industry generates £6.3bn a year and employs 250,000 people.

Tom Riordan, chief executive of Yorkshire Forward, which will invest £30m in the campaign over the next three years, said: “Our region is a country in a county, with its brilliantly vibrant cities, breathtaking national parks and rejuvenated seaside towns.

“Tourism is one of those sectors that can keep Yorkshire and Humber afloat during the economic downturn – with many people opting to holiday in the UK – and we can reach out to global markets that can take advantage of the weak pound.”

Welcome to Yorkshire unveiled its plans at a conference in Leeds on Friday.

The campaign will concentrate on European countries plus Canada and China.