HARROGATE International Centre has welcomed a boost to the town's conference industry brought about by the opening of two new hotels.

A 107-room Premier Inn, with direct access to HIC Yorkshire, opened its doors earlier this week, bringing the total number of bedrooms in Harrogate to more than 2000.

Meanwhile International centre director Simon Kent was one of more than a hundred VIP guests to attend the opening of the nearby West Park Hotel, which has undergone a major facelift after being taken over by the Provenance Inns group last year.

Mr Kent said: “Obviously when you’re running a major event centre like HIC Yorkshire you’ve got to be confident that your delegates have quality accommodation to go back to at the end of a busy day.

“I have had a tour of each hotel and it’s great to see that both companies have put a lot of investment in making sure they have the very best facilities."