Julian Smith, Member of Parliament for Skipton and Ripon, has spoken about the opportunities of the Tour de France coming to North Yorkshire at the Conservative Party Conference.
He was on a panel with the Sports Minister Hugh Robertson during the main session focused on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport at the Conference in Manchester on Tuesday 1 October 2013.
The debate discussed the economic opportunities of having the Grand Depart in the region, the health benefits and longer term positives such as tourism.
Julian said:
I was delighted to be able to showcase the benefits that having the Tour de France in North Yorkshire next year to the Conservative Party Conference. The Government knows how important this event is to the economy, health and long-term future of Yorkshire which is why they are investing £10m into ensuring the Grand Depart is a huge success.
Many businesses have been contacting me to pass on that they are seeing an increase in bookings not just for the event but before and after as cyclists want to experience the route for themselves. Maximising those long-term benefits is crucial and I will be working hard to ensure that happens in the months ahead.
