Tourism strategy aims to help district through economic crisis

The new organisation is aiming to mirror the success of similar bodies such as Visit York in the hope of boosting the Harrogate district’s tourism sector, which already contributes £500m annually and supports about 23,000 jobs.

However, while the concept of the new Harrogate District Tourism Destination Management Organisation (DMO) has been agreed, concerns have been voiced over whether the scheme will become a reality amid the cuts in public sector funding.

The Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce’s chief executive, Brian Dunsby, expressed fears that the DMO may not get off the ground unless enough money was secured from both the private and public sectors.

While an exact budget has yet to be finalised, senior officials at Harrogate Borough Council, which is having to enforce more than £1m in savings in this financial year alone, have confirmed that the cost of the project could run into a six-figure sum.

Mr Dunsby said: “The Harrogate district’s economy is hugely reliant on both business and leisure tourism, with the conferencing sector especially important for Harrogate itself. It is vital that we do all we can to build our position in the tourism sector as it is so vital to the district’s economy.

“The Government has said that organisations like the DMO are the way forward, with privately-led bodies working alongside the public sector. But for this project to be a success, we need to make sure that there are sufficient funds available from both the private and public sectors – otherwise it simply will not work.”

The Yorkshire Post has learnt that the council declined earlier this year to commit £10,000 to a previous strategy, which had a £50,000 budget to bolster the town’s conferencing trade in smaller and medium-sized venues, such as the Pavilions of Harrogate.

But the council’s chief executive, Wallace Sampson, claimed the decision was taken to hold back on allocating the funding to establish if the cash could be better used to serve the wider remit of the proposed DMO. He stressed that the new scheme was being spearheaded by the council, and talks are underway with businesses to establish the key targets of the DMO.

Mr Sampson added: “It is a great concept, although we now need to establish the appetite, aspirations and ambitions of everyone who is involved in the tourism sector. If the willingness is there, collectively we will make the DMO work. The council recognises that the DMO will be of benefit to not just the private sector, and we want to see it succeed.”

It is understood that the DMO will be aimed at encouraging more visitors who are attending conferences in Harrogate to return with their families to boost the leisure tourism sector.

Closer links are due to be forged with Welcome to Yorkshire to provide a defined marketing strategy for some of the Harrogate district’s main attractions, including Ripon Cathedral and Knaresborough Castle as well as the World Heritage site at Fountains Abbey and the Royal Horticultural Society’s gardens at Harlow Carr.

Mr Sampson stressed that the DMO would be aimed at ensuring visitors had the “best possible experience” during their stay by providing a co-ordinated approach between different tourism partners.

But a tourism strategy encompassing the Harrogate district has been affected by a lack of clear direction in the past.

The Yorkshire Post revealed in November that a major restructuring of North Yorkshire’s tourism services was being enforced after a marketing strategy was blighted by allegations of infighting and failed leadership. Welcome to Yorkshire appointed two new area directors in a move to draw a line under the previous regime.