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12
May 2023
Ripon to stage public meeting on new tourism strategy
A public meeting is being held in Ripon next week to hear views on how to shape a new tourism strategy for North Yorkshire.
North Yorkshire Council, which came into existence last month, is devising a strategy to boost the county's multi-million pound tourism industry.
As part of this, the council is staging three free workshops, including one at the Old Deanery in Ripon from 11am to 1pm on Wednesday.
A council press release this week said the events would "gather information and views from key organisations and enterprises involved in the tourism sector to develop the first countywide destination management plan".
Attendees will be asked about their priorities and aspirations for the tourism industry as well as the strengths, opportunities and challenges being faced by North Yorkshire’s visitor economy.
Newby Hall. Pic: Mervin Straughan
The council’s Conservative leader, Cllr Carl Les, said:
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In-person events will also be held in Ripon, Skipton and Scarborough followed by two online sessions from 5.30pm to 7pm on Tuesday, May 23, and then from noon until 1.30pm on Thursday, May 25.
The draft destination management plan is due to be finalised by the end of June, before being presented to councillors the following month.
A bid is then due to be submitted to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in September for North Yorkshire to be home to a Local Visitor Economy Partnership, which would involve both the private and public sectors and would need to follow a new national process to be eligible for support and potential funding from the government.
Tourism in North Yorkshire accounts for 11 per cent of the county’s overall economy and employs 41,200 workers.
The county is home to two National Parks for the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors, as well as Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, which is one of only two World Heritage Sites in Yorkshire.
North Yorkshire also has stately homes, including Castle Howard, Kiplin Hall and Newby Hall, as well as 23 English Heritage sites, including Whitby Abbey, Richmond Castle and Rievaulx Abbey, along with the recently acquired Thornborough Henges.
The county also has a wealth of famous food and drink producers responsible for brands including Bettys Café Tea Rooms, Wensleydale Cheese, Harrogate Spring Water and Yorkshire Tea.
Further details of the workshops are available here.
You can complete a 10-minute questionnaire on North Yorkshire’s visitor economy here.
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