The man responsible for generating the greatest economic impact on business tourism in Yorkshire has been recognised with a prestigious award. Dominic Stokes, General Manager of Sheffield City Hall and Sheffield International Venues (SIV) Conferencing and Events, won the Personality of the Year prize at Insider’s Yorkshire Business Tourism Awards 2010.

 At a gala dinner hosted at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, the event gathered more than 200 professionals from the region to celebrate the very best of Yorkshire's business tourism industry.

Over the course of the financial year 2009/2010 SIV was responsible for fuelling an estimated £12 million back into the South Yorkshire’s business economy, to which Dominic Stokes can be largely attributed.

 Dominic has been General Manager at Sheffield City Hall for just over five years and was responsible for the reopening of the venue following a 2 year closure and £12million refurbishment. Since then not only has Dominic, maintained the venue’s well respected reputation within the entertainment sector, but he’s also taken the venue to new heights by establishing it as one of the premier locations for conferencing and business events in the country. A recent coupe, Sheffield City Hall was recently announced as the host venue for the Liberal Democrats Spring Conference in 2011.

Dominic’s title was extended further, 2 years ago, when he was also made the General Manager of Conferencing and Events across the rest of the SIV venues. Sheffield International Venues (SIV) operates one of the biggest concentrations of diverse international venues in Europe, including Ponds Forge, Sheffield, the English Institute of Sport – Sheffield (EIS Sheffield) and Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield and of course the City Hall, Sheffield.

In addition to Dominic’s award, Ponds Forge was also shortlisted in the Large Venue of the Year and Best Event categories at the ceremony last night.

Naturally, Dominic was delighted with the award saying: “I was overwhelmed and honoured to have received this award. I am especially thrilled as it is testament to the hard work done by the team at City Hall and SIV who give me immense support to allow me the time to go out and promote the region. Sheffield and Yorkshire are the places to be. We should not be shy about shouting about our venues, events and activities as there is no place in the country that can compete with us when we are at our very best”

Steve Brailey, Chief Executive of SIV, went on to say: “Dominic is a very worthy winner of this award for his excellent work, dedication and drive to attract key business to Sheffield and maximize every opportunity to showcase the city as a top destination for business tourism. He is a fantastic ambassador for SIV and Sheffield and thoroughly deserves this accolade.”

Now in its third year, the awards, which last night were compèred by author and broadcaster Gyles Brandeth, recognise organisations and venues that go the extra mile to bring more business into Yorkshire

Jim Pendrill, Editor of the Yorkshire Business Insider, said: “Just like every other industry, business tourism has had to adapt quickly to the downturn, but the good news is that venues ranging from Yorkshire’s very best boutique hotels through to its major conference venues have continued to invest. In fact, Yorkshire’s business tourism industry has been a big winner in the downturn, as both the public and private sectors have kept a closer eye on spending and found real value for money up North.”