Taxpayers in North Yorkshire are set to fund a new tourism organisation in the wake of Welcome to Yorkshire’s demise.
Welcome to Yorkshire entered administration on Tuesday after years of financial and reputational difficulties.
Yorkshire Leaders Board, which represents council leaders and metro mayors, agreed at a private meeting this week there should be a new regional destination marketing organisation funded by local authority grants. A timeline will be agreed in May.
The prospect of local authorities, including North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council, funding another tourism body has prompted concrns.
Stuart Parsons, leader of the Independent group on the Conservative-controlled county council, said:
“North Yorkshire County Council and the district / borough councils have spent vast amounts supporting this organisation with little or no return.
“The idea of setting up another group at this moment is just laughable.”
Welcome to Yorkshire in happier times.
‘Couldn’t organise a tea party’
Cllr Parsons was also critical of the decision by Yorkshire Leaders Board to publish a summary of a tourism report by Merran McRae, a former chief executive of Wakefield and Calderdale councils, rather than the full report. He added:
“We haven’t seen the report and so don’t know just how rotten things were. Also given that the leaders of North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council served on the existing board I’m afraid that I would have no confidence in their ability to organise a tea party let alone a regional agency.
“All previous board members must be prevented from serving on any new organisation as they have failed taxpayers.”
Stuart Parsons
Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, was a Welcome to Yorkshire board member for five years until administration. Richard Cooper, leader of Harrogate Borough Council, was a board member from 2016 to 2019.
A Conservative county councillor, who asked not to be named, branded Cllr Les’ five years on the board as a “litany of failure”, adding:
“It fits with other issues showing a lack of judgement — the loss-making Brierley Group companies and the £9m acquisition of the Royal Baths in Harrogate.
“Some of the core services North Yorkshire County Council runs are excellent but when it comes to commercial judgement, it’s a series of disasters.”
Read more:
- Welcome to Yorkshire enters administration
- Harrogate council to continue to fund Welcome to Yorkshire
£85,000 a year from county council
The county council paid annual subscriptions of £85,000 to Welcome to Yorkshire.
Carl Les
Cllr Les said the new tourism body would be smaller than Welcome to Yorkshire and focus on strategic marketing to “get people interested in coming to Yorkshire” and leave specific initiatives to other groups.
He said his anonymous critic “doesn’t actually know an awful lot about what has happened” and added “it was a pity they didn’t challenge me face-to-face”.
Cllr Les added he was unable to discuss Welcome to Yorkshire in detail as it was now being managed by administrators.
£62,100 since 2012 from Harrogate Borough Council
Harrogate Borough Council has paid £62,100 from its holiday tourism marketing budget to Welcome to Yorkshire over the last decade — but hopes to get £12,100 reimbursed.
A spokesman added:
“We recognise the need for an organisation that has a Yorkshire-wide focus to help develop the Yorkshire brand in order to attract visitors to the region.
“This enables us to build on the successes of Destination Harrogate, and the reputation we have as an events destination, to drive both leisure and business visitors to the Harrogate district.”
Welcome to Yorkshire chairman Peter Box said in a statement:
“The past three years have been incredibly difficult for board members and staff as we have endeavoured to deal with well-publicised legacy issues.
“These matters, coupled with the impact of covid and the task of securing sufficient funding from the public and private sectors to place Welcome to Yorkshire on a sound financial footing, have made the situation increasingly challenging.”
“It is my sincere hope that the public sector will recognise the value of a new regional destination management organisation to build on the many achievements of WtY.
Council leader Richard Cooper has not responded to a request for comment by the Stray Ferret.
Richard Cooper
Armstrong Watson LLP has been appointed as joint administrators of Welcome to Yorkshire.
County Councillor Gareth Dadd, North Yorkshire’s deputy leader for finance and assets, said in a statement:
“This is disappointing news, but we now have an opportunity to work with all our partners across Yorkshire to build a new destination marketing company with a new funding model that will help the whole of Yorkshire punch its weight and build on its globally recognised brand.
“North Yorkshire has seen its fair share of benefits from the work of Welcome to Yorkshire in past years in attracting visitors to the county for world class events such as Tour de Yorkshire and our role in the Grand Depart of the Tour de France. And it’s important to say that all loans made to the Welcome to Yorkshire by the county council have been repaid in full with agreed interest.”
It remains to be seen whether the new organisation, which could be run by many of those involved with Welcome to Yorkshire, will avoid the same mistakes.