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08
Feb 2023
Harrogate council’s tourism body facing uncertain future
Destination Harrogate could face financial cuts or be swallowed up by a county-wide body, councillors have been told.
The Harrogate district’s destination management organisation was launched by Harrogate Borough Council last year.
It has four streams aimed at promoting tourism, hosting events, bringing in investment and supporting culture and was launched amid concerns the authority had a fragmented approach to tourism and marketing.
Its campaigns have focused on promoting the district as a health and wellbeing destination to capitalise on Harrogate’s spa town heritage.
But with the council ceasing to exist from April 1, to be replaced by the new unitary authority North Yorkshire Council, Liberal Democrat councillor for Hookstone, Pat Marsh, asked senior figures at the authority what will happen to the organisation.
At a meeting this week, Cllr Marsh said:
Paula Lorimer, Harrogate Convention Centre’s director, said that following an independent review commissioned by the government into destination management organisations, it would likely mean that only destination management organisations from cities or large regions will be able to receive funding from central government, which would exclude Destination Harrogate.
Read more:
- Harrogate council spends £2.2m on new tourism body in first year
- Harrogate council agreed £222,000 in exit packages due to tourism restructure
Ms Lorimer suggested Harrogate would have to amalgamate into a wider, yet-to-be created North Yorkshire destination management organisation to qualify for the funding.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed last month that Harrogate Borough Council spent £2,224,000 on Destination Harrogate in its first year operating — almost a million pounds more than budgeted.
Borough council chief executive Wallace Sampson told councillors that the new authority could look to “identify savings” with Destination Harrogate after it is handed control of the organisation.
He added:
Mr Sampson warned of the possible pitfalls of Destination Harrogate being merged into a county-wide tourism body, which he suggested could dilute the focus on individual places.
He said:
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