Emmerdale is presently celebrating its 40th anniversary

One of the UK’s best loved soaps, Emmerdale, has joined the campaign to promote Yorkshire as the perfect place for a holiday.

ITV and Welcome to Yorkshire agreed a deal which will see the first paid-for-placement of a brand in the soap.

The deal has seen a number of Welcome to Yorkshire leaflets, stickers and membership plaques, starting to appear in Emmerdale village.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire said: “We are always looking for new ways to promote
Yorkshire and working with one of the most successful soaps on television, which is set in Yorkshire, is an obvious partnership.

“With an average audience of over seven million viewers watching each episode, this is a great way to promote Yorkshire as a perfect holiday destination.”

As part of the agreement one of the most famous pubs in the country, The Woolpack, has become a Welcome to Yorkshire member.

Emmerdale attracts an average audience of 7.6million viewers and 34 per cent share of the audience for each of its five episodes every week.

In 2012, a peak audience of 9.4 million viewers tuned in on January 5th to watch the unveiling of Cain Dingle’s attacker.

Katherine Marlow, Branded Content Manager, ITV said: “Emmerdale and Welcome to Yorkshire is a great brand fit and we look forward to exploring further opportunities as part of this partnership.”

Whitby Abbey is one of the most famous sites in Yorkshire

Welcome to Yorkshire

Welcome to Yorkshire (WTY) is the official tourism agency for the UK’s biggest county and promotes Yorkshire tourism nationally and internationally.

Its aim is to grow the county’s tourism economy by keeping Yorkshire front of mind, developing Yorkshire pride, making sure the county speaks with one voice – and that it is heard!

WTY is hailed by the government as an example to be followed and has international recognition for its marketing campaigns, marking it out as one of the best tourism agencies in the world.

Since 2009, this innovative marketing of the county has seen the value of Yorkshire’s tourism economy rocket from £5.9 billion to £7 billion – a rise of £1.1 billion.

The 2009/10 Regional Visitor Survey also indicated that 97 per cent would recommend Yorkshire as a place to visit with 89 per cent said they would be very likely to return to Yorkshire within two years.

Grassington Waterfalls in Yorkshire

WTY created a multi award-winning website – the official site for tourists from around the corner and the world – which attracts around five million visits a year.
Innovative projects have also seen the Yorkshire message spread across the nation and beyond.

WTY’s series of Chelsea gardens booked their place in the competition’s history books after scooping gold, silver and People’s Choice awards.

Their bid to bring the Grand Depart of the Tour de France to Yorkshire showcased the county’s natural beauty as well as its ability to host major world class events.

And cultural partnerships on tours such as The Railway Children and Hockney saw Yorkshire step into the global limelight for its art offering.

WTY’s work in promoting the county has seen them scoop some of the biggest global awards thanks to its mix of
creative marketing campaigns across TV, online and print.

Views over Cayton Bay, Yorkshire

Yorkshire was catapulted onto the world stage in 2010 after WTY won the World Travel Award for World’s Leading Marketing Campaign in 2010.

They followed up this feat by winning the same award again in 2011, beating the likes of Egypt, Spain, South Africa, Brazil, Scotland and Abu Dhabi during those two years.

Another World Travel Award for Yorkshire followed after being named the best place to holiday in the UK and WTY was also handed a special award for Europe’s Leading Marketing Innovation.