The Business of Travel

The Business of Travel was the theme at this year’s York & North Yorkshire Chamber Annual Dinner.

Held at the spectacular York Racecourse venue, it attracted more than one hundred guests from across the region.

In a nod to the Chamber’s recent trade delegation to New York City, and to York’s travel industry prowess, the event attracted speakers from both Teesside and Leeds Bradford Airport, Grantley Hall and LNER.

The keynote remarks came from our York & North Yorkshire Chamber president Sarah Czarnecki, who used her speech to hail the fact that the region now has an elected mayor.

Elsewhere, the Andrew Digwood Award was presented to York Minster director Alex McCallion for his services to the region’s business community.

Sarah Czarnecki, president of York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “Which brings me on to our final order of business. Just under 18 months ago we lost a giant of the North Yorkshire business community.

“Andrew Digwood was a much loved and respected businessman and former president of the Chamber. In his memory, we created the Andrew Digwood Award, an honour to be handed out every year to a business or individual who has shown themselves to be inspirational and transformative in the region and an example to the next generation of young York leaders.  

“This year, we present that award to Alex McCallion, a director of works at York Minster. It was Alex that led the New York ledger stone project and during his time here he has done the city a great deal of service, showing himself to be a true friend to its business community. It is my privilege to present him with this prestigious award.”  

Alex McCallion added: “I was completely taken by surprise when the President of the York & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce announced that I was the recipient of the 2024 Andrew Digwood award.  It is a huge honour to be recognised by the business community this way and made all the more poignant that the award is named in Andrew’s memory – an incredible leader in the York business community.  The whole evening was focused on the importance of our international reach which continues to grow for the benefit of business in the county – it’s an incredibly exciting time, particularly as we continue to build on the re-energised connections in New York”.