Harrogate council spent £5,000 on King’s Cross snow globe

Harrogate Borough Council paid £5,220 to install a Christmas snow globe at London’s King’s Cross station for two days, the Stray Ferret has learned.

The giant inflatable globe was put on the passenger concourse at King’s Cross in November to promote Harrogate’s Christmas Fayre and entice people towards a £140 LNER train service from the capital to Harrogate to sample the festivities.

The snow globe also offered people the chance to have selfies taken inside a winter wonderland scene.

The idea came from the council’s tourism organisation, Visit Harrogate, which partnered with LNER for the rail offer. The first-class service included special Harrogate goodie bags.

Through a freedom of information request, the Stray Ferret discovered Visit Harrogate spent £5,220 to hire the globe for two 12-hour days at King’s Cross. The price included VAT and the wages of two people who operated the globe.

The Stray Ferret also asked Harrogate Borough Council how many tickets to Harrogate were sold for the Christmas rail offer but the council said it did not know. LNER declined to disclose the information.

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Harrogate Christmas Fayre took place from December 2 to December 12 in the town centre. It replaced the previous Harrogate Christmas Market after organisers were not given a licence to run the event by the council.

The Stray Ferret revealed last month that Visit Harrogate paid a social media influencer from Bristol £700 to promote the fayre in a blog, which only received two likes on Facebook, including one from the council itself.

Christmas festivities across the country were dampened by the Omicron wave that hit the UK in the days leading up to Christmas.

‘Record traffic’

A spokesperson for Destination Harrogate, which includes Visit Harrogate, said:

“Visit Harrogate’s partnership with LNER saw the eye-catching snow globe travel to the capital to take a prime position in one of London’s busiest train stations, Kings Cross. The station which sees hundreds of thousands of commuters each day, allowed for maximum exposure of Harrogate district while promoting the direct LNER line from London to Harrogate.

“Located in the centre of the concourse and visible from all the main approaches, the giant snow globe became a key meeting point at the station on a Friday and Saturday – two busy days for a train station in the capital – with hundreds of people pulling out their phones to take photographs, sharing them on social media and further extend the reach of the campaign.

“During this period, the Visit Harrogate website received record levels of traffic, demonstrating the success of not only this activity, but also the wider Destination Christmas campaign.

“The purpose of all of our campaigns is to support our local visitor economy which makes up around 15% of the economy in the Harrogate district and provides jobs for around 8,000 people. For a visitor economy to continue to thrive and grow, it requires a collaborative approach and ambitious and exciting campaigns, such as this.”

Robot polar bear and 18m whale set to tour Harrogate district

A robot polar bear and an 18 metre beached whale are among the attractions travelling round the Harrogate district this month as part of an environment-themed week of events.

Visit Harrogate, Harrogate Borough Council’s tourism body, has organised the week of events named ‘Our Planet, Your World’, to offer free acitivities for families with an over-arching message of protecting the environment.

Events will take place between Monday, February 21, to Saturday, February 26, in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Masham and Pateley Bridge.

The week will begin in Boroughbridge with earth-themed storytelling sessions at the library between 10am and 1pm. On Tuesday, there will be sea inspired craft activities available to children at Masham Town Hall.

The Masham event is on between 11am and 4pm and children are encouraged to attend both days in fancy dress.

Robot polar bear to highlight the plastics crisis

On Wednesday February 23, an animatronic polar bear will roam Ripon’s Market Square with its keeper throughout the day. Visitors are also being invited to help an artist to create a five foot sculpture out of plastics, which will then be donated to a local school.

The two spectacles are there to highlight the urgent plastic crisis affecting the oceans. There will also be live music, face painting and crafts going on nearby between 11am and 4pm.

18 metre whale to arrive in Valley Gardens

Harrogate’s Valley Gardens is the venue for Thursday, February 24, which involves a 18 metre whale, two life-size kangaroo impersonators, The Roo’s and a huge animatronic tortoise all to fascinate visitors.

This day’s aim is to educate families about sea-life preservation. Alongside the three main attractions there will also be a sea fairy glob, with a magical sea fairy inside,  and Bob the Lobster to entertain children.

Craft activities will also be held throughout the day between 11am and 4pm.

Two life-size kangaroo impersonators will arrive in Harrogate.

On the Friday, an earth-themed craft session is being held in Pateley Bridge between 11am and 4pm.

The week concludes in Knaresborough Castle Grounds on Saturday. Boat-About, a life-size boat cruise with actors, will move around the grounds to entertain visitors between 11am and 4pm.

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Gemma Rio, head of Destination Harrogate said:

“Our Planet, Your World is the perfect family-friendly event to kick off what we hope will be an exciting year of live events across the Harrogate district. Events like this increase footfall to our town centres, and attract visitors from further afield, which in turn helps support our local businesses. I would encourage everyone to come along this February half term, enjoy the events, celebrate the world we live in and learn about how we can protect it.”

Organisers have said some activities are weather dependent so are asking visitors to follow the Visit Harrogate social media channels.

The event is being funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the government’s Welcome Back Fund.

Harrogate council paid social media influencer £700 to promote town

Harrogate Borough Council paid a social media influencer from Bristol £700 to promote the town’s Christmas Fayre in a blog — which only received two likes on Facebook, including one from the council itself.

Heather on Her Travels is run by travel blogger Heather Cowper and is aimed at people over 50. Ms Cowper writes about her trips to different places in the UK and abroad with articles focused on “authentic travel with a little luxury”.

In December last year, Ms Cowper, who has 8,000 followers on Twitter, 4,000 on Facebook and 17,000 on Instagram, published an article called “11 Fun Things To Do Over Harrogate – Our Winter Break”.

It named the council’s new Harrogate Christmas Fayre as the number 1 attraction.

The Stray Ferret discovered through a freedom of information request that the council, through its tourism body Visit Harrogate, paid Ms Cowper £700 + VAT for the article.

Its performance on social media raises questions over whether the fee represents value for money.

On Twitter, the article received just one retweet. It performed better on Facebook but still only won two likes, including one from Visit Harrogate.

Heather on her travels

One of the Instagram posts.

Several photos of the trip on Instagram fared better, receiving up to 50 likes.

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Other UK councils have used social media influencers to promote their area, including Edinburgh City Council. Edinburgh Live reported the authority paid £14,000 to Instagram influencers who praised the Scottish capital as a destination.

However, these posts were more successful, with one post about a bike tour around Edinburgh racking up almost 2,500 likes.

‘Attracts our target demographic’

Gemma Rio, head of Destination Harrogate, which controls Visit Harrogate, defended the £700 fee for Ms Cowper. Ms Rio said she produced “incredibly well-written content” that could help the council attract new visitors through social media:

“The digital landscape has changed significantly in the last few years with around 80% of adults (53 million) using social media daily, with the average user spending almost two hours on these platforms.

“Like many other destination management organisations – as well as most businesses – Destination Harrogate is keen to capitalise on this incredibly effective marketing tool to target specific audiences, especially around the tourism and travel sector.

“Heather Cowper was chosen as she regularly appears on the lists of top 100 travel blogs worldwide and has established herself as one of the best traveller bloggers. Regularly receiving thousands of views every month on her videos, photos, podcasts and blogs.

“Heather’s content is also incredibly well written – having spent many years sharing her own travel experiences and insights – and also attracts our target demographic.

“The joy of using social media as a marketing tool is that it is often more cost-effective and engaging than traditional advertising, as we can utilise photography and video as well as words. All adverts and promotions can also be evaluated extensively; whether that’s reach and engagement or driving traffic to our website, for example.

“We can also continue to adapt and tailor our approach to future campaigns, attract new visitors, as well as understand the behaviours of our target demographic to ensure a return on our investment.

“Social media advertising and the use of influencers to increase brand awareness looks like it will continue to be one of the most beneficial marketing tools. We’re keen to continue using it to showcase what the Harrogate district has to offer and stand out amongst competitor destinations.”

Will you be going for a spin on Harrogate’s helter skelter?

Have you spotted Harrogate’s new Christmas attraction in front of the war memorial?

Harrogate Borough Council has installed a full-sized helter skelter opposite Bettys ahead of the festive season.

The fairground ride, which arrived last night, will remain in the town centre until January 2.

Rides will operate during the afternoon, subject to weather, throughout November and December.

The attraction is one of various ideas Harrogate BID, Visit Harrogate and the council have organised this festive season, along with Christmas markets, a Santa visit and a Christmas train, to encourage footfall into the town.

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https://twitter.com/Silverginger/status/1460367753660047364

New Christmas express train from London to Harrogate

A Christmas express train is to operate from London to Harrogate this year to attract people to the town’s new festive market.

Tourism organisation Visit Harrogate has partnered with rail company LNER to set up the service for the new Christmas Fayre on Friday, December 10.

The first class service will depart King’s Cross at 9.33am and arrive in Harrogate just under three hours later. Tickets cost £140 and include a goodie bag of Harrogate treats. It will cost £100 from Stevenage and £80 from Grantham.

Passengers can spend one or two days in Harrogate.

A giant inflatable snow globe is being installed at King’s Cross station today and tomorrow, offering people the chance to have selfies taken inside a winter wonderland scene, while learning more about the special event.

Visit Harrogate is planning the biggest Christmas campaign in its history after covid ruined last year’s festivities.

Gemma Rio, head of destination management at Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“We are delighted to be working with LNER to bring more visitors to Harrogate for a festive break. Overnight visitors spend money in our hotels, restaurants, shops and visitors attractions – which is exactly what our local businesses need after a difficult year.

“The direct service from London is a real asset to our visitor economy, so we’re committed to working closely with LNER in the lead up to Christmas and beyond to ensure potential visitors from the south east know just how easy it is to reach us.”

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Harrogate Borough Council and Visit Harrogate are planning to work with LNER on a regular basis to attract visitors from London throughout the year.

Kate McFerran, director of communications at LNER said:

“We are excited to announce that Harrogate will be the destination for our very first Christmas market event. It’s such a stunning location for a weekend visit, offering something for all the family and it promises to be especially magical this Christmas.”

Harrogate’s Christmas offering

Harrogate Christmas Fayre, which is being jointly staged by the council and Market Place Europe, will take place on Cambridge Street, Market Place, Station Square and Cambridge Crescent from December 3 to 12.

It will be open between 10am and 7pm Monday to Wednesday, 10am and 9pm Thursday to Saturday, and 10am and 4.30pm on Sunday.

About 50 traders will take part in the fayre.

In addition, Little Bird Made is set to hold a festive artisan market in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 December, with times to be confirmed.

The artisan market will feature approximately 60 local and regional traders and producers who will sell a variety of festive arts and crafts, clothing, homeware, jewellery, as well as food and drink.

Bettys in Harrogate ranked among UK’s top 20 coffee shops

Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms in Harrogate has been named one of the UK’s 20 best coffee shops, alongside two other Yorkshire venues.

Coffee manufacturer Coffee Friend created the list by looking at all coffee shops with over 100 TripAdvisor reviews, basing the results on how many ‘Excellent’, and ‘Terrible’ rankings they received. Bettys received over 4,000 ‘excellent’ reviews on the site.

Bettys ranked number 20 and may have been hampered by its sheer volume of reviews. It received over 7,000 while only one other coffee shop reached the thousands — this inevitably increased the number of ‘Terrible’ rankings Bettys received.

The tea room and cafe has become a popular tourist spot since its establishment over 100 years ago. The Harrogate branch is its flagship, but there are now six in Yorkshire, including one at Harlow Carr. The cafe at Bettys Stonegate in York closed this year but the shop remains open.

Espresso Yourself in Scarborough and Wheldrakes in York also made the list.

At number one was Bigmoose Coffee Company in Glasgow, a non-profit cafe, which donates all profit to charities.

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Harrogate council to spend £165,000 on tourism website

Harrogate Borough Council has said it will spend £165,000 revamping its tourism website Visit Harrogate  — after previously refusing to reveal the sum.

The council awarded the contract two months ago to a company from Ipswich in a private meeting without undertaking a competitive tender process.

It told the Stray Ferret at the time that coronavirus had created an “economic crisis” that forced it to bypass competitive tendering.

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A report prepared for the meeting said it would take six months for a “full procurement process” and the site needed to be ready for the 2021 tourist season.

The council acquired the Visit Harrogate site last year.

The authority believes the site has suffered from “historic underinvestment” and “visually no longer meets the user requirements or expectations”.

Jacob Bailey Group won the four-year contract to create what the council called a new destination management system.

Yesterday the council revealed the £165,000 sum in response to a question on Twitter.

A council spokesperson told the Stray Ferret:

“This new destination management system will allow our destination management organisation to effectively attract new leisure and business visitors to the district through the work of Visit Harrogate and a new conference bureau. This is vital in order to support the recovery of the Harrogate district’s visitor economy.

“This destination management system is a comprehensive set of tourism management tools and functionality, including databases of marketing information for accommodation, businesses and visitor attractions; reporting and evaluation; event and booking services; news and blogging functions; visitor planning tools; integration with review sites such as Trip Advisor as well as integration with Visit Britain’s flagship tourism exchange.”

Visit Harrogate website contract awarded without tender

Harrogate Borough Council has awarded a contract without competitive tender to a company from Ipswich to rebuild its tourism website.

The council approved the move on Thursday, saying covid had created an “economic crisis” that necessitated bypassing its usual procurement rules.

The meeting was not open to the public but a report prepared in advance for councillors recommended hiring the Jacob Bailey Group for four years to redevelop the Visit Harrogate site.

The report said it would take six months to undertake a “full procurement process” and the site needed to be ready in time for the 2021 tourist season. It adds:

“The exceptional circumstances that justify this are due to covid creating an economic crisis within the visitor economy.”

The document says there were just two main companies providing services in this field and “market research” had identified the Jacob Bailey Group.

Recently the authority was criticised by a local businessman for awarding a contract to project manage its investment in leisure services to a firm in Somerset – again without going through a tendering process.

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HBC said the current Visit Harrogate site, which the council acquired in 2020, had suffered from “historic underinvestment” and “visually no longer meets the user requirements or expectations”.

According to the report, the site receives over 800,000 hits a year. It adds:

“The 2021 tourism season is going to be vital for the visitor economy and its success will decide the fate of local businesses, to ensure the best possible outcome an optimal online presence for the visitor experience must be operational.”

The Stray Ferret asked the council the value of the contract, why it had not dealt with the matter sooner, what market research had led it to select the Jacob Bailey Group and whether it felt any local firms were capable of providing the service.

A council spokesman replied with the following statement:

“In March 2021 the contract with the current supplier of the Visit Harrogate website will expire.

“On November 26, the cabinet member approved the appointment of Jacob Bailey Group to provide a new destination marketing website incorporating a destination management system.

“This is vitally important in order to support the recovery of the Harrogate district’s visitor economy.

“This is an exciting development, building on the success of the existing Visit Harrogate site and will ensure our district continues to attract visitors at a time when the sector needs support the most.”

Hotel closures deliver blow to Ripon tourism

The Old Deanery Hotel’s closure early next year, combined with the closing of Ripon’s Spa Hotel, is a double blow to the city’s tourism sector.

As the city slowly emerges from lockdown, concerns have been raised about its future tourism prospects with a reduced choice for overnight visitors.

Tourism in Yorkshire and Humber is worth more than the whole tourism expenditure in Ireland or Denmark, while the number of people in the region employed in the sector is approximately 250,000.

Visitors are drawn to Ripon’s ancient church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, known as the Cathedral of the Dales, and the city’s heritage includes the world-famous nightly Hornblower ceremony.

As operators of visitor attractions look to the future, there are concerns about the loss of the bed spaces that they provided.

Ripon Prison and Police Museum

Ripon’s Prison and Police Museum

Helen Thornton, director of Ripon Museum Trust, which runs The Workshouse Museum, The Prison & Police Museum and Old Courthouse Museum, told the Stray Ferret:

“Covid-19 has impacted all tourism sectors and it is perhaps too early to say what the long-term picture will be. The closure of two hotels in Ripon is very sad and the decision must have been really hard but understandable given the circumstances we have all faced.

“I think it has long been acknowledged that a tourism city like Ripon could do with more hotel beds to develop the cultural  and heritage tourism offer further. Undoubtedly Ripon as a whole would benefit from more hotel beds.”

The trust re-opened its heritage attractions in mid-July and secured the Visit England’s ‘Good to Go’ kitemark for all the Covid-19 safety measures put in place to keep visitors, staff and volunteers safe.

Helen added:

“We are cautiously pleased with our performance in August. We didn’t know what to expect in terms of numbers but so far so good! We certainly did have tourists visiting who were ‘staycationers’, staying in the area in a variety of accommodation types.”

The trust has benefited from Heritage Lottery funding and works with organisations including Welcome to Yorkshire, Visit Harrogate and we other attractions in Ripon and the surrounding area, to promote the city-wide offer.

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Richard Compton, the owner of Newby Hall on the outskirts of Ripon, is also saddened by the loss of two hotels, but remains optimistic.

He said:

“There are many new ways nowadays through which people stay in a particular place to enjoy the tourism offer – AirBnB for example – and I hope that the hotels will re-emerge in some form or other as places that welcome visitors to stay so that they can service Ripon’s tourism offer.”

The Stray Ferret asked Ripon’s MP Julian Smith if he had any support to offer to operators of tourist and visitor attractions in his constituency, but no response was received by the time of publication.