Views of North Yorkshire businesses sought to shape new tourism strategy

A series of workshops are being held in Scarborough, Ripon and Skipton this month to gather views from key organisations and enterprises.

It will be used to develop the county’s first destination management plan, which aims to boost the multi-million pound sector and attract a wider and more diverse range of visitors, North Yorkshire Council said.

The authority’s leader Cllr Carl Les said the input of tourism businesses “will be key” to developing the “major milestone” strategy.

Tourism in North Yorkshire is worth £1.5bn a year, accounting for 11 per cent of the county’s overall economy and employs 41,200 workers, the council said.

Famously, Scarborough and Whitby’s economies heavily rely on the summer tourism trade and visitors to the Yorkshire Coast.

Invitations have been sent out to tourism businesses for the free workshops, which are both online and in-person.

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.

An event will be held at Scarborough Rugby Club on Thursday May 18 between 11am and 1pm, followed by two online sessions on May 23 and 25.

Cllr Les added: “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.”

The draft destination management plan is set to be presented to councillors in July.