A MARKETING campaign which was “critical” in the recovery of York’s tourism industry following the 2015 Boxing Day floods could scoop two prestigious awards.

The ‘York – the Original City Adventure’ campaign has been shortlisted for ‘Best Tactical PR Campaign’ in the Travel Marketing Awards and ‘Best Integrated Campaign’ in the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Awards.

The campaign was launched by the city’s destination management organisation, Make It York, and supported by City of York council, North Yorkshire County Council and Virgin Trains, to drive visits to York and North Yorkshire.

A spokesperson for Make it York said: “The campaign was critical in the recovery of the city following a dramatic dip in visitor numbers early in the year. “ It was designed to encourage visitors to plan their very own adventures in the city and across Yorkshire, and promoted themed food, history and outdoor adventures across York and North Yorkshire.

The Travel Marketing Awards, on March 14, recognise the most original, creative, innovative and best performing advertising, marketing and digital campaigns over the past year.

CIM’s Marketing Excellence Awards recognise and reward brilliance in the field of marketing, celebrating the finest minds within the profession. The awards ceremony will be held on April 27 in London.

Make it York says throughout the summer of 2016, York and its North Yorkshire countryside and coast benefited from the campaign, which saw 570,000 copies of a new 12-page guide to York distributed to half a million homes in London, across the North of England and Scotland. Michelle Brown, marketing manager for Make It York, said: “We’re thrilled York’s tourism marketing and PR campaign has been recognized in these prestigious awards.

“Following the Boxing Day flooding businesses across the city and the county rallied together to help us create a strong and impactful campaign. What began as a very difficult year for tourism, ended on a high note. York’s tourism sector is well and truly on a high.”