Businesses and local communities have spoken of their pride at showcasing North Yorkshire through a major sporting event that is aiming to boost the county’s vital visitor economy.
The Long Course Weekend will be hosted next month, the first time that the internationally recognised multi-sport event has been staged in England.
The event is based on the principles of the triathlon but is tailored to open up the three disciplines of swimming, cycling and running to as wide an audience as possible.
It is hoped that the sporting competition will bring in as much as £2 million to North Yorkshire’s economy and will attract thousands of competitors and visitors.
Council leader, Cllr Carl Les, said: “We are delighted to be hosting the Long Course Weekend, which has grown a reputation around the world as being an extremely successful sporting event.
“We know how important the visitor economy is in North Yorkshire, especially in areas such as the Yorkshire Dales.
“The Long Course Weekend will give us the opportunity to showcase Masham and North Yorkshire to thousands of people who will be visiting, bringing a welcome economic boost for local businesses.”
The Long Course Weekend will be held in Masham from Friday, 6 September, to Sunday, 8 September.
The Long Course Weekend’s founder and chief executive, Matthew Evans, said: “We are extremely excited to bring the Long Course Weekend to North Yorkshire, and we are hoping that all the local communities will embrace the opportunities it will bring.
“We have a proven track record of staging these major events around the world, and it will help raise the profile of North Yorkshire even further and show what a wonderful place it is to live, work and visit.”
New figures released in July revealed that tourism contributed more than £4 billion to North Yorkshire’s visitor economy last year, attracting in excess of 31 million people to the county.
The data also highlighted how the local tourism industry supports 38,486 jobs through direct and indirect employment making up 13 per cent of all employment across North Yorkshire.
