New council set to drive forward tourism in North Yorkshire and support local business

A strategy to promote tourism as well as capitalising on world-famous heritage and culture is aiming to drive forward North Yorkshire’s economy and help support thousands of businesses.

The visitor economy has become a pillar of North Yorkshire’s economic prosperity, with hundreds of thousands of tourists travelling from across the world to the county every year. A wide range of culture, arts and heritage is seen as vital for developing the sector and ensuring the thousands of independent businesses which rely on the tourism industry can develop.

The new North Yorkshire Council, which launches on Saturday (April 1), will be instrumental in providing a co-ordinated county-wide plan to promote the visitor economy, while also ensuring the industry is centred around environmentally-friendly business growth.

North Yorkshire County Council’s leader, Cllr Carl Les, who will assume the leadership of the new authority, said: “By having one council we can join up and strengthen North Yorkshire’s cultural offer, lobby for a greater share of funding for arts and culture and support a year-round visitor economy.”

The new council will launch when North Yorkshire County Council and the existing seven district and borough authorities, which are currently responsible for promoting tourism, merge in the biggest shake-up of local government since 1974 to pave the way for a devolution deal.

A bid is due to be submitted for North Yorkshire to be home to a so-called Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP), which will involve both the private and public sectors and will need to follow a new national process to be eligible for funding from the Government.

The current destination management organisations in North Yorkshire are working closely on the project, pooling their knowledge and expertise to ensure the strongest possible proposal for a LVEP is submitted. The new council will also be engaging with businesses, business networks and the leisure, culture and tourism sectors across the county in the coming weeks to help develop a strong partnership.

Tourism in North Yorkshire is worth £1.5bn a year in the spend from domestic visitors. It accounts for 11 per cent of the county’s overall economy, and 41,200 workers are employed in the sector. North Yorkshire already has an enviable reputation for its visitor economy due to a series of high-profile events and a wide range of cultural attractions from historic stately homes to centuries-old castles and ancient monuments.

Cllr Les said: “We want to strengthen our tourism and cultural offer, by ensuring there are year-round attractions, and increase visitor spend. Via devolution, we will have a real opportunity to lobby the Government to ensure North Yorkshire enjoys the benefits seen in urban areas, which have mayoral-led combined authorities.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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