A MAJOR television advertising campaign featuring well-known Yorkshire personalities is to spearhead a drive to attract visitors back to the region.

The adverts, due to be broadcast in January and February, will be backed by a radio campaign and a massive public relations exercise.

Mr David Andrews, chief executive of the Yorkshire tourist board, unveiled preliminary plans to Richmondshire business forum on Monday.

The £1.5m campaign is aimed at raising public awareness of the Yorkshire region and attracting holidaymakers and day trippers back to the area.

The cash comes from a £24m package set aside by Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency, for post-foot-and-mouth recovery. Nearly £2m is earmarked for tourism and must be spent by the end of March.

Mr Andrews told the meeting: "The television campaign has yet to be finalised but it will contain household names who are Yorkshire personalities. The radio and PR campaigns will support it and the whole thing will have a theme of 'Yorkshire, Britain's Biggest Great'.

The balance of the cash would help promote breaks linked to walking; hidden Yorkshire; houses and gardens and television and movies.

Members were concerned that the grant cash must be spent by next March and backed a motion from Coun Richard Good that Yorkshire Forward be urged to ring-fence some of its regular funding for tourism each year.

Mr Andrews agreed with members that confused messages had been sent to the public about whether the countryside was open for business, particularly with regard to footpaths.

"To the consumer, if footpaths are open, it gives the green light to come back to an area," he said. The tourist board was working with Defra to tidy up some technical loose ends and eradicate anomalies where a right of way appeared to be open to some but not to the general public.

Business associations in the district reported some success in attracting grants to help the local economy recover from the crisis.

Dr Mike Nicholls, of Richmond business and tourism association, said a total of £18,300 had been secured from Yorkshire Forward. About £10,300 would fund a publicity campaign for Richmond, linked to English tourist board marketing of the Commonwealth games in Manchester next year. The rest would be used to produce a comprehensive business directory for the town.

Coun Good, of upper Swaledale and Arkengarthdale business association, reported that the regional development association had offered £15,500 - about half of what the local association had hoped for. Negotiations had begun about whether the amount could be increased.

Most of the funding would go towards revitalising the association web site and an advertising campaign to draw attention to it. A dedicated telephone line would also be installed to respond to inquiries.

Mrs Kate Empsall, of upper Wensleydale business association, said a £10,000 grant was due from Yorkshire Forward, although the association had hoped for as much as £55,000. The cash would help fund a promotions officer.

Mrs Pam Whittaker, the district council tourism officer, said a decision on a bid for funding to promote a Yorkshire dales brand should be made in October. The bid was put together by the Yorkshire dales joint promotions initiative, of which the council is a member