A NEW £10 million fund is being opened up to businesses in North Yorkshire and the East Riding in a bid to grow the region's tourism industry.

Over the next five years businesses in the industry are being invited apply for grants of between £35,000 and £500,000 to help bring more visitors to the area, encourage those visitors to stay longer, and provide them with more to do.

The invitation for bids is being made by the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) after securing European funding, with the round split into two areas covering infrastructure and collaboration.

A LEP spokesperson said: "With around 10 per cent of North Yorkshire and the East Riding’s economy coming from tourism and the associated sectors, our region is a thriving destination for day trippers, those looking for a weekend away as well as visitors from further afield.

"We want to see plans that will help us meet our ambitions of attracting more visitors to the area and for our tourism sector to prosper; growing faster than our wider economy.

"There is more than £800,000 available in this round of funding, which runs between now and the end of 2015.

"This won’t be the only chance to apply, as there are plans for more calls to be opened in 2016, including further similar calls for tourism, as well as other calls to boost rural businesses."

The first of these calls focuses on tourism infrastructure, the second provides grants for tourism businesses that are looking to work together to attract visitors. The overall purpose of investing in these businesses is to create more jobs in rural areas.

There is up to £362,000 of funding available through the tourism infrastructure call, with grants available from £35,000 up to £140,000, and an application deadline of January 8 next year.

Grants from £35,000 up to £500,000 are available from the tourism co-operation call, the deadline for which closes on December 31 this year.

Jane Lady Gibson, LEP board member and chairwoman of Make It York, the parent company of tourism agency Visit York, said: "As a region, we have more than 200 years’ experience of welcoming visitors to North Yorkshire and the East Riding. And with some of the UK’s best-loved coastline, two national parks as well as much more off the beaten path, we have a bright future too.

"This funding provides us with a great opportunity to both attract more tourists, and encourage them to visit more frequently by boosting our attractions and capitalising on the assets we already have."