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Title: International Nature Tourism Conference success Author: Yorkshire Wildlife Trust  ID & Publication: 20121011004 ~ The-Villager.co.uk  Area: UK  Subject: Environment

'Together we can do more’ was the resounding outcome of Yorkshire’s first Nature Tourism conference held at The Spa, Bridlington earlier this month.

Whilst you may not always agree with this age-old saying, it encompasses the general feel for the future of Nature Tourism here in East Yorkshire. Delegates both local to eastern Yorkshire and those from farther afield were provided with a unique platform for sharing their experiences on how to make the most of local natural assets to help enhance businesses and grow tourism in eastern Yorkshire.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Nature Tourism manager Martin Batt who organised the conference said: ‘Never before have we had the chance to get together with so many local businesses, international delegates from France, Finland, Hungary and Portugal and conservation professionals from the Outer Hebrides and other parts of the UK. The opportunities the conference afforded those who were trying to grow their businesses using nature tourism were invaluable.’

Dee Mitchell, LEADER Coast, Wolds, Wetlands & Waterways Local Action Group Coordinator said: ‘Cooperation between European countries is an important aspect of rural development and LEADER funding. Colleagues from other LEADER areas commented that as a result of attending the conference they now understood the value of cooperation projects and felt that they had missed an opportunity by not working as we have with international partners to share and develop ideas locally’.

Dee added : ‘I spoke to a number of people on the day who were just starting businesses or were thinking about starting a business because of the nature tourism investments in our area and the opportunities for employment that this is resulting in. Fantastic comments and a fantastic conference’.

If you missed the conference then visit www.yorkshirenaturetriangle.com/ where we will be adding some of the presentations. To keep in touch with the Nature Tourism project you can also join us on Twitter @YorksWildlife #naturetourism.

The Nature Tourism Triangle project launched in 2010, with funding from the Coast, Wolds, Wetlands & Waterways LEADER programme. Funding for which is from the EU and Defra’s Rural Development Programme for England. The project has already shown how tourism income could help revitalise Yorkshire’s coastal and inland economy, with a report issued by Leeds Metropolitan University and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

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