THE lucrative conference and seminar market for business travellers worldwide and nationwide must be capitalised on, says the Yorkshire Tourist Board (YTB).

This was on the agenda to 100 representatives from the tourism industry at the annual general meeting held last Friday in York.

The new chief executive of YTB, Canadian David Andrews, presented the annual report for the year ending March 1998, which details the various work programmes that have been delivered by the board during the year, in support of the region's tourism industry.

He said: "It is predicted that by the year 2000, tourism will be the largest industry in the world."

YTB, which has a £4 million annual budget - three-quarters of which is spent on marketing - said 137,000 people were involved in one way or another with tourism in the county, with one-in-ten employed in business in York.

"The world is getting smaller, and the worldwide tourism market is becoming ever-more competitive," said Mr Andrews.

"YTB's mission statement is 'to represent and help generate sustainable business for the region's tourism industry,' and this is our main objective for both the domestic and overseas markets.

"He added: "Quality is the keyword for the future, not only in what the region has to offer by way of attractions, accommodation, and events, but also in the people who receive our visitors. We need to ensure that once people arrive here they are given the very best professional service that can be offered.

"Training is the means to ensure this, and YTB is heavily committed to providing and supporting comprehensive training to the tourism industry in this region."

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