North Yorkshire tourism businesses asked to help shape new strategy
It's aimed at promoting the industry and attracting more visitors
Tourism businesses in North Yorkshire are being asked to help shape a new strategy to promote the industry and attract more visitors.
North Yorkshire Council is coordinating the new strategy, which will be aimed at boosting the multi-million pound tourism industry and supporting tens of thousands of workers who are employed in the sector, while also attracting a wider and more diverse range of visitors to the county.
The council’s leader, Cllr Carl Les, said: “The opportunity to develop the first county-wide plan to promote tourism is a major milestone for North Yorkshire.
“The views of businesses and organisations involved in tourism will be key to developing the strategy and the future of the industry as a whole.
“We have such a breadth of tourism businesses and attractions which we can be rightly proud of, but we want to ensure that the sector can grow and flourish in the future and help support the region’s wider economy.”
There is an online session to provide feedback from 12 noon until 1.30pm today (Thursday 25th May)
A survey of North Yorkshire's visitor economy is also being conducted to allow a greater understanding of the views of industry.
The questionnaire will focus on accommodation, attractions and experiences, food and drink, festivals and events, as well as heritage and culture, landscape and countryside, towns and villages, access and transportation and visitor services.
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 (LVEP), which will involve both the private and public sectors and will need to follow a new national process to be eligible for support and potential funding from the Government.
The questionnaire on North Yorkshire’s visitor economy is available online too and will take no longer than 10 minutes to complete.