Dales firms encourage visitors to return

Businessmen and women in the Yorkshire Dales National Park are getting opportunities to discuss repeat business at meetings next month.

Figures suggest an average of 12.6 million day visitors and 1.39 million staying visitors visit the National Park each year but park bosses want to ensure they keep coming back.

The events are being organised by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) for members of Dales Tourism Business Network at locations around the national park.

Those filling the 15 places available at the first event will discuss the theme “Attracting greener customers and encouraging repeat visits”.

That meeting, on February 12 from 10am until 2.30pm, will also involve visits to Cottage in the Dales in West Burton and the Dales Bike Centre at Fremington, near Reeth.

Meghann Hull, the authority’s sustainable tourism officer said: “This will be a great opportunity to see how two very different businesses in the National Park have managed to tackle green issues and implement environmental measures.

“The event will include a visit to see Diane Howarth and her five-star gold accommodation at Inglenook Cottage in West Burton, looking at how you can still be green in a listed building in a conservation area.”

She added: “The group will then travel over to Swaledale to see Stuart and Brenda Price at their Dales Bike Centre and cafe near Reeth, looking at how they have successfully managed to set up their low fuel, low impact enterprise catering for mountain bikers visiting the National Park.

“These are informal ‘familiarisation trip’ events and we hope people will be able to take away ideas as well as picking up tips on reducing costs and introducing simple environmental measures,” she added.

Bookings can be made by emailing Meghann Hull at [email protected] before January 31.