A £5M expansion of one of the region's leading conference venues is on course for completion by February at a time when tourism figures are soaring.
During the past year, Harrogate district, in North Yorkshire, which includes Ripon, Masham, Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge and Boroughbridge, attracted 3.5m visitors, a ten per cent increase in the previous year, says the annual report from the Harrogate International Centre (HIC).
Meanwhile, overall spending by visitors is £234.1m, an increase of 17 per cent on 2002.
The figures mean Harrogate district retains its third place in the national league of destinations behind London and Birmingham.
In his annual report, HIC director Paul Lewis said the expansion in King's Road - between the International Centre and Royal Hall - was making rapid progress.
The Queen's Suite will include a 700-seat meeting room, which can be divided into nine individual soundproofed rooms.
Escalators, lifts and walkways will link the Queen's Suite with the rest of the central site's 16,500m of exhibition space and the 2,000-seater International Centre.
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