Former Bront Country Tour-ism (BCT) manager Carolyn Spencer has left the organisation to pursue a career as a freelance travel trade consultant.

She will specialise in marketing, public relations and product development services for the tourism and leisure industry.

Carolyn, 35, joined Keighley Business Forum as personal assistant to director Iain Copping in July 1995. She became involved with the area-promoting Bront Country Tourism initiative on its launch in March the following year.

BCT initially began with six members. A measure of the organisation's impact and development is its growth to the current 90 members - made up of tourism related businesses in an area taking in Airedale, Craven, Wharfedale and Calder-dale.

Carolyn also regularly represented BCT at major travel and tourism exhibitions at home and abroad, building up lucrative relationships and working to develop specialist holiday packages with operators in the UK, Europe and America.

She says: "The valuable experience gained at BCT helped greatly when making the decision to pursue my own interests and offer focussed marketing and PR services to tourism businesses who cannot support full-time personnel in these fields. I feel my work will prove complementary to what BCT is trying to achieve, and look forward to continuing my association with them as a member."

Carolyn is married with two children, and lives in Keighley. She runs her new business from the Cross Hills office of Main Street Design & Market-ing.

Meanwhile, BCT officials are to attend a massive travel fair. They are preparing to travel to Utrecht in the Netherlands to exhibit at 'Vakantiebeurs '99', one of the largest tourism exhibitions in the world open to the public.

Bront Country Tourism exhibited at the annual event for the first time last year, and this year will be sharing a stand with Herriot Country. While both areas are well known in their own right, they are currently working together on joint marketing packages.

The six-day event involves over 1,600 exhibitors from 100 countries and should attract over 180,000 visitors.

Debbie Hopkinson, acting manager of Bront Country Tourism, says: "We are hoping for a busy week. Last year proved very successful in raising our profile to the Dutch, many of whom were particularly interested in the walking opportunities and the standard of hospitality offered in this area."

To find out how your tourism related business can be represented nationally and internationally ring Debbie on 01535 670700.

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