Tourism drive to halt national park’s falling visitor numbers

A new head of promotion and tourism role has been created at the North York Moors National Park Authority as it prepares to launch a major marketing campaign in its 60th anniversary year.

The authority is looking to strengthen its brand nationally and to boost the already hugely important tourism industry.

The campaign will include developing its partnership with Welcome to Yorkshire, improving road signage and bolstering its online presence with a focus on social media, including Twitter and Facebook.

It will also shine a spotlight on a series of major improvements to its visitor centres at Sutton Bank and Danby, including the creation of a £175,000 exhibition which is set to be completed in the spring.

Work on the new attraction started earlier this month and it is being carried out as part of the Lime and Ice Project, which has been awarded £500,000 in Lottery funding to run until 2013.

The project was launched to allow the public to learn more about the landscapes of the North York Moors National Park and the neighbouring Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The assistant director for park services, Michael Graham, said: “The new head of promotion and tourism, who is due to start in the next few weeks, is going to put together a new and exciting plan for promoting our centres and the National Park to the wider population.

“We are hoping to reverse the decline in visitor numbers and attract more people to the area and more people to our fabulous centres, which will go back to seven days a week opening from February half term.

“Our tea rooms at Danby have been refurbished and will be opening under new management and we have got a very exciting programme of events and exhibitions lined up there.

“The Sutton Bank centre, with its new exhibition and refurbishment, is going to be a key attraction and it’s one we hope to get many people to. We want to encourage more passing trade to the centre, as well promote it as a destination.”

The centre was recently named an official Dark Sky Discovery Site by astronomy experts due to it being the perfect spot for stargazing. The authority plans to promote its new status as part of its campaign and build on the recent popularity surge in astronomy, inspired by the BBC’s recent Stargazing Live series.

“We will used the logo and we already feature on the national Dark Sky Discovery site. We are also planning an event in November, “ said Mr Graham.

Last year the Yorkshire Post revealed that the North York Moors National Park’s visitor numbers had fallen by about 10 per cent during the peak summer period as financially-stricken householders ditched days out and holidays to save money.

The authority is facing a shortfall of nearly £65,000 following a decline in car parking fees and sales at its visitor centres as well as a fall in fees for planning applications.

Visitor numbers were down by 13,250 between April 1 and August 31 at the visitor centres at Sutton Bank and Danby – about a 10 per cent fall compared to the same period in 2010.

Car parking fees fell by 13 per cent on budget projections – a total of £3,000 – between April and August, while sales of national park products declined by 16 per cent, or £26,000.

The fall in planning fees led to a 16 per cent reduction – £9,000 – over the same period for the financial plan for last year.

Mr Graham said: “Visitor numbers have been declining but we are hoping to improve what we offer. At the moment there are some very exciting opportunities for us to look at how we do business, what we offer the public and how we can improve it.”