Was it still open? Why Welcome to Yorkshire’s demise means tourism fresh start after troubled agency’s winding up – Susan Briggs

More recently it’s often been paired with the word ‘scandal’ and equally damaging phrases such as ‘lack of transparency’, and ‘waste of public money’.

Welcome to Yorkshire can leave behind a proud legacy for the region - The Yorkshire Post says

Whereas the destination marketing organisation once grabbed headlines by showcasing Yorkshire, attention has most recently focused on its financial difficulties and the county’s local authorities have decided that they will not to fund the future of the troubled body. Welcome to Yorkshire has been placed into administration and will be wound up.

The response from tourism businesses has been muted: shoulder shrugs rather than shock. There have been expressions of sadness for the remaining staff but why such a muted response? I think there are several reasons.

There’s been little visible marketing activity or communication from Welcome to Yorkshire over the past few months. Some businesses even asked if the marketing organisation still existed.

The Covid-staycation effect has played its part – Yorkshire’s tourism businesses are enjoying high booking levels and some have learnt to live without Welcome to Yorkshire’s marketing support.

While we might once have associated blue and yellow flags with the route of the Tour de Yorkshire, now we immediately think of Ukraine and human suffering. What’s the demise of a struggling organisation when compared with so many deaths? Perhaps some of the muted response is because other bigger news is preoccupying our minds.

It is at least relatively easy to look to the future of Yorkshire tourism, even if the details are not yet clear. Local authorities are intimating that they are willing to look at the creation of a new regional destination organisation. Throughout the last couple of turbulent years, there has been much debate about Welcome to Yorkshire’s troubles, but almost everyone agreed on one thing: there is a need for a regional tourism body.

A new body will be able to take the best of Welcome to Yorkshire’s activity and build on it, and to move on from the past. It will be far easier to harness public and private sector support, and build credibility from scratch.

At the end of last year I conducted a wide-ranging (unpaid) consultation among Yorkshire tourism businesses, individual destinations and industry associations. There was strong agreement from within the industry that Yorkshire needs a ‘hub and spoke’ approach in future.

A small, strategic regional ‘hub’ organisation would speak on behalf of the whole of Yorkshire and implement a strategy agreed with the industry at large. The tourism sector needs a strong and trusted advocate for the tourism sector.

Many industry associations and organisations represent key destinations within Yorkshire. These represent the ‘spokes’ feeding into the regional body. They have close relationships with businesses and host communities in their area, and a strong understanding of their product.

It is worth pointing out that over the past two years several Yorkshire areas have significantly increased their own activity, some developing marketing campaigns and creating their own destination organisations or local area collaborations. Welcome to Yorkshire will leave a gap, but not a vacuum.

In North Yorkshire alone, Scarborough, Hambleton, Ryedale, Harrogate, York and Selby have all increased their own tourism marketing activity, as has the North York Moors National Park. Destinations across Yorkshire, including Leeds, Sheffield and Calderdale, have all created their own marketing and product development activity.

Over the last few years there has been limited discussion on what is needed for tourism to flourish here. What does the industry need a regional destination organisation to do? We need more data and research, and to decide which places need more visitors and when.

Now is a good time for the public and private sector to come together to think what we need, and how to ensure the visitor economy benefits more residents and businesses. There is great willingness to look forward and make things better and collaborate. There’s enormous enthusiasm for collaboration and genuine interest in helping to make things better. Now we just have to get on with it.

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