Yorkshire Forward
Active fans / Audience, Destination / Host City, Economic impact, Profile, Tourism

Following its successful participation in the Clipper 07-08 Race, Team Sponsor Yorkshire Forward decided to sponsor the Race Start and Finish, and also entered a yacht bearing the region’s name, Hull and Humber, in the Clipper 09-10 Race. The organisation took the decision based on its desire to raise the profile of the Hull and Humber region on a national and international level, and encourage the community to build local pride.

Proof of the partnership delivering on its objectives was demonstrated in an independent evaluation of Yorkshire Forward’s investment in the Clipper Race, which reported the following results:

The Race Start and Finish were the largest ever attended events hosted by the city, with an estimated 200,000 people visiting Hull for the two events.

£9.3m IN GROSS EXPENDITURE

A total of £9.3m gross expenditure was attributed to visitors at the events,

The Race Start weekend was shortlisted in two categories at the 2011 UK Event Awards: Best Cultural Event and Tourism Event of the Year.

Nearly 60% of respondents said that Hull was better than expected.

21% of visitors were from outside of the UK.

The event provided a welcome boost to part of the region most severely affected by the recession.

The economic benefits highlighted above are only a portion of the successes that the Yorkshire Forward campaign delivered. In addition to the Start and Finish, the Yorkshire tourism agency agreed a trade MOU with Qingdao, China and Cape Breton, Canada.

Yorkshire Forward also created a CSR project called ONE HULL, that gave young people in the region who were not in education, employment or training, the opportunity to develop key skills by participating in the race, whilst saving the local economy £1m. It also ran targeted tourism marketing campaigns in key markets such as NYC, which resulted in increased web traffic from the USA to www.welcometoyorkshire.com by 118%.

Yorkshire Forward promoted the Clipper Race Start and Finish with a multi-channel marketing campaign, the feature of which was the installation of the 68ft Hull and Humber Clipper Race yacht in the middle of the main field at the Great Yorkshire Show, where thousands flocked to have a tour of the unusual sight.

21% INTERNATIONAL VISITORS

To leverage hosting the Clipper Race Start and Finish, Yorkshire Forward wrapped a festival around each of the event days to ensure maximum attendance. The ‘Freedom Festivals’ included live music and a comprehensive entertainment program, local markets and street vendors, a fire and light exhibition and cultural tours.