TONG Garden Centre has been shortlisted in the Welcome to Yorkshire White Rose Awards, while the tourism organisation will lead the county’s response to a Government inquiry into rural tourism.

The Tong Village-based independent garden centre will battle it out in the Outstanding Customer Service category with five other finalists including Bettys Café Tea Rooms, Harrogate and The Grand Hotel and Spa, York.

The Welcome to Yorkshire White Rose Awards is the largest celebration of tourism excellence in the UK.

The Outstanding Customer Service award recognises and rewards exemplary customer service throughout Yorkshire and the winners will be announced at an awards ceremony later this year.

The business, based on a 17-acre site near Tong village, was acquired by Mark Farnsworth and Tom Megginson in May 2015, with a funding package from Yorkshire Bank arranged by relationship manager Duncan Brock.

Mr Farnsworth said: “We’re so proud of everyone who has worked tirelessly to put the customer first and has helped to transform Tong.

“This shortlist success is testament to the commitment and loyalty displayed by our growing team over the course of a busy, exciting and challenging year as we restore Tong to the garden centre it deserves to be.”

Meanwhile, Welcome to Yorkshire will provide an expert testimony to a Parliamentary committee probe on rural tourism.

Welcome to Yorkshire has a long history of supporting the county’s rural sector and has pledged to lobby the Government to ensure it continues to thrive.

Domestic visits to Yorkshire last year were up 20 per cent – among the strongest in England - while spending also increased by 11 per cent.

Recent work includes delivery of Yorkshire’s Grand Départ and two editions of the Tour de Yorkshire which all took in vast swathes of the countryside.

The latest edition of the race generated £60 million for the economy and was broadcast in 178 countries.

Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “Rural tourism is absolutely vital to the county’s economy.

“Welcome to Yorkshire has a long history of supporting rural businesses across the county – as well as the tourism industry as a whole - and we will lobby the Government to ensure our rural economy continues to thrive.

“We will be submitting a written response to the Parliamentary committee based on our experience and doing all we can to drive this forward.”