Event Sponsorship

Make It York (York’s Destination Management Organisation) has an overarching remit to market the city and its surroundings – nationally and internationally – as an exciting place to live, study, visit and do business. The remit covers leisure and business tourism, city centre management, festivals and events.

Businesses from all sectors, not just tourism, can get involved with the work we are doing by taking advantage of our corporate sponsorship opportunities. We can design packages to suit your business needs and target audiences, ensuring you maximise potential.

Examples of the fantastic opportunities we offer include:

• The opportunity to be a partner on a major leisure marketing campaign
• Sponsorship of events such as the annual Visit York Tourism Awards or Visit York Tourism Conference, giving you direct exposure to hundreds of businesses
• The opportunity to sponsor an ice sculpture at the annual York Ice Trail, boosting your footfall as well as your digital presence

Please see further details of annual sponsorship opportunities below, or send us an email to chat with our team.

The York Ice Trail exists to:

• Create a free event for the city, appealing to York Resident's, Students and Visitors
• Move the audience around the city to areas of York they may never have been/ experienced before
• Boost the local economy through spending in local businesses
• Encourage repeat visits to the city after the event.

The event is not only popular with visitors but we also welcome local residents with the 2024 event attracting a split of 75% visitors to 25% residents. The average party size visiting was 3, 81% were from Yorkshire. 75% also enjoyed visiting Cafe/Bar/Restaurant, with 50% shopping.

Being part of York Ice Trail is not only fun & creative, but can also increase footfall to your business guaranteeing a large audience for you to engage with. If you are looking for a different marketing opportunity that attracts thousands, this is the event for you.

If you are interested in being involved in the York Ice Trail 2025 or have any questions please get in touch: sales@makeityork.com

Celebrating the best in York - Thursday 20 March 2025, York Racecourse

Now in its 27th year, the Visit York Tourism Awards celebrate excellence in the tourism industry, highlighting businesses and individuals who offer outstanding service, innovation and a warm welcome to York's 8.9 million visitors each year.

It’s a spectacular evening of recognition for those working in the tourism sector and provides the opportunity to network with guests across the industry, including hoteliers, attractions, retailers and key players in the tourism industry in York.

We are thrilled to announce that this year's headline sponsor is LNER. Additionally, we have multiple award categories available for sponsorship opportunities.

Award Category Sponsorship Package in detail:

• *Two complimentary tickets for the ceremony - we’d love you to be there to celebrate with the winners and finalists!
• Opportunity to present the winner’s award on stage of your sponsored category.
• Networking opportunity at the ceremony with over 350 guests, including hoteliers, attractions, retailers as well as key players in the tourism industry in York.
• Your logo and strapline in the Tourism Awards programme, alongside your sponsored category.
• Your logo on large screens at the ceremony and related events including the applications workshops.
• Your logo on the large screen on stage for your category during the nomination and winner announcement.
• Inclusion in the finalists’ and winners’ press releases covered locally and regionally.
• Inclusion in Visit York’s membership communications
• Your logo with hyperlink to your website on the Visit York Tourism Awards hub page – and promotion on visityork.org with an average 142K visitors per month.
• Inclusion in social media coverage relating to your sponsored category pre, during and post ceremony – with over 185K followers and over 25M impressions per year.
• Inclusion in Visit York’s engaged e-newsletter – to over 30K subscribers.
• Visit York Tourism Awards Sponsor logo to use in your marketing collateral.
• First in line for sponsorship for the following year’s Visit York Tourism Awards.

Sponsorship for each award category is £1,500 plus vat. Get in touch today to secure your preferred award category or to discuss details further: awards@makeityork.com

Please note, we will require a 50% deposit to confirm sponsorship bookings, with final payment due December 2024.

The Visit York Tourism Conference, sponsored in 2025 by LNER, involves a gathering of city leaders and Visit York members, focusing on fostering creative collaborations and exploring new opportunities for York.

If you want to get involved with Visit York Tourism Conference, don't hesitate to get in touch: sales@makeityork.com

This is just a snap shot of the possibilities. If you want to build brand awareness, gain direct exposure to around 500 of the city’s most influential tourism businesses and contribute to the continued success of York, contact our team sales@makeityork.com to discuss further.