Welcome to Yorkshire 'should stop taking taxpayers' money and follow Cornwall model', claims peer

Welcome to Yorkshire should move to a new ‘Cornwall-style’ operating model to end its reliance on taxpayer funding for good, a Yorkshire peer has claimed.
Holidaymakers in St Ives, Cornwall - one of the nation's most popular tourist destinations. Picture: GettyHolidaymakers in St Ives, Cornwall - one of the nation's most popular tourist destinations. Picture: Getty
Holidaymakers in St Ives, Cornwall - one of the nation's most popular tourist destinations. Picture: Getty

Liberal Democrat peer and former Sheffield Council leader Paul Scriven, who has been an outspoken critic of Welcome to Yorkshire’s use of public funds in recent years, said the issues highlighted in the company’s latest accounts show a broader rethink is needed.

He said one option that should be seriously considered is following the example of Visit Cornwall.

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In 2015, Cornwall Council ended public sector funding of Visit Cornwall, giving it a one-off £300,000 sum to support its transition into a Community Interest Company funded by the private sector.

Former Sheffield Council leader Lord Scriven. Picture: Scott MerryleesFormer Sheffield Council leader Lord Scriven. Picture: Scott Merrylees
Former Sheffield Council leader Lord Scriven. Picture: Scott Merrylees

As part of the changes, Visit Cornwall stopped putting on events and the Cornwall Tourism Awards and focused on supporting and promoting the work of its members.

Its most recently published accounts for the 2018/19 year show a £2,000 profit, following on from a £58,000 surplus the previous year.

Lord Scriven said a similar approach could work in Yorkshire.

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People are looking at these accounts from the wrong end of the telescope,” he said. “People are trying to look at what this means for Welcome to Yorkshire rather than what is in the best interests for the taxpayer and having a sustainable tourism body.

“Visit Cornwall has shown you can take away public sector funding and have a community interest company that has a social purpose without a public subsidy.

“It is delivered for its members by its members who are the private sector organisations big and small that are the backbone of tourism.

“That is what we need to do rather than local authority leaders somehow being frightened into believing if they don’t keep giving over taxpayers’ money we won’t have an effective tourism organisation. Cornwall has proved it can happen.

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“We must ask what is in the best interest of taxpayers. When councils are struggling to provide services, is it right that year after year the begging bowl for Welcome to Yorkshire takes priority?

“The Cornwall model is one that delivers year after year for its small, large and medium-sized tourism organisations. It is not trying to be in the limelight or run massive events which don’t necessarily help tourism to be sustainable, it is helping its members.”

Susan Briggs, the director of the Masham-based Tourism Network, said the Cornish model is being adapted in other parts of the country and she would be happy to see it introduced in Yorkshire.

She said: “It is an excellent model and what they do has got a really good reputation. It works because it is led by people with years of industry experience. Having a similar thing in Yorkshire would work equally well or better.”

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She said Welcome to Yorkshire is far from the only Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO) to have been hit by the Covid-19 crisis, with DMOs across the country reporting drops of between 40 and 70 per cent in income due to the loss of public funding and membership subscriptions because of the pandemic. In a sign of the sector’s struggles, in July 2020, Visit Cambridge and Beyond was closed after it was deemed to no longer be viable.

Ms Briggs said that while Welcome to Yorkshire’s intentions to reduce its reliance on public sector funding were laudable, it was yet to be seen how feasible they are - particularly in relation to visitors booking holidays through the agency’s website.

She added: “The key issue is that it is going to be very, very tough in the coming two to three years to generate sufficient money from digital marketing given the competition from the private sector, and it will be even harder to generate sufficient membership contributions.”

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