THE broad acres of Yorkshire have added another jewel to their crown – by beating off some of the world’s most exotic locations to take a global travel award for the third time.

Tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire held off competition from India, Brazil and South Africa among others to win World’s Leading Marketing Campaign at the World Travel Awards in Delhi.

It was the ‘Have a brilliant Yorkshire’ campaign that took the plaudits with its mix of TV ads and creative outdoor advertising.

Agency chair Clare Morrow said: “We knew we were up against the best of the best and this shows how far both our organisation and Yorkshire have come.

“Now the world is waking up to what we have in Yorkshire – unrivalled culture, food, attractions and natural beauty.

“Our county is the envy of many across the world and is now becoming a must-see destination nationally and internationally.”

The win comes after the tourism agency lost its central Government funding and has had to adapt its long term sustainable business model.

Chief executive Gary Verity said: “When we started this journey as Welcome to Yorkshire in 2009, we were clear about our aims – use big, creative ways of making Yorkshire one of the world’s number one destinations and in the process grow the economy and visitor numbers.

“Awards like this recognise the hard work put into these campaigns and the many thousands of businesses that get behind them, because together we are stronger.

“These are the biggest awards in international tourism and it should make us all very proud to see Yorkshire top of the world.”