Councils gear up to reap Tour rewards

Councils are concerned that while tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire takes care of marketing the region, more needs to be done to support the tourism sector in areas such as skills and supporting businesses.

Local authorities are also looking at changing the way they work with Welcome to Yorkshire to give it more financial certainty.

Wallace Sampson, chief executive of Harrogate Council who is leading the development of the plans, said: “We have a fantastic opportunity to build a sustainable legacy from the Tour de France activity by thinking about what we do to keep the momentum going and keep tourists coming into the region. Skills development is very important, not just at the bottom in terms of catering and customer service but across the sector including management.

“Business support is an important issue including access to finance and councils are responsible for significant assets to tourism such as museums and parks.”

Yorkshire’s tourism sector employs around 250,000 people and is worth £7bn to the economy.

But despite its importance there has not been a region-wide view on its development since the demise of regional development agency Yorkshire Forward and councils want to make sure opportunities are not being missed.

Coun Stephen Parnaby, chairman of Local Government Yorkshire and Humber and leader of East Riding Council, said there was “huge potential” to grow tourism in the region.

“Times are tough for local government, but we think we can work more effectively in Yorkshire and Humber, across all councils, to share our resources, support our visitor economy businesses together, and make the most of what all of our local areas have to offer – from our coastal resorts and national parks, to city destinations and unique cultural and industrial heritage,” he said.

“Our aim is to encourage as many people as we can to stay longer, spend more, and be inspired to return, time and time again.”

Councils say their work on tourism in the coming months will be dominated by the start of the Tour de France in Yorkshire in July. But they want to have a plan in place to make sure the region continues to reap rewards for years to come.

Wakefield Council leader Coun Peter Box, a Welcome to Yorkshire board member, said the Grand Depart gave the region “unparalleled” opportunities to showcase the region globally. “By working jointly through a shared strategy we can work to make sure that we make the most of the Tour and use it as a springboard to even greater growth and investment in the years to come,” he said.

The scrapping of Yorkshire Forward led to the loss of millions of pounds of funding for Welcome to Yorkshire which currently reaches annual agreements with individual authorities to market the region. As part of the new plan, councils are looking at reaching a collective deal covering several years to fund its work.

A Welcome to Yorkshire spokesman said: “We would welcome any new developments that supported, and could potentially enhance and strengthen, the work that Welcome to Yorkshire already does promoting Yorkshire around the world.”