Looking to the future: activities and roles for Welcome to Yorkshire, and local organisations

As I've said in previous articles, Welcome to Yorkshire may be the most prominent organisation involved in tourism in Yorkshire, but it's not the only one. Organisations like Visit York, the two National Parks, area tourism networks (I run DalesTourism, and the North York Moors National Park), local authorities, and many other bodies all play a role. 

Given the need to increase tourism revenue and reduce dependence on public funding, there's an urgent need to find a way forward that really works for tourism businesses, builds back better and creates a more sustainable, positive tourism industry. How can we fill gaps, avoid duplication and be more productive?

The following are a few notes on a possible way forward.

Some activities will always need to be undertaken at a local level, where relationships with businesses are strongest. This is particularly the case in rural and coastal areas where the majority of businesses are small and owner-run. 

Activities by local organisations, networks, National Parks & local authorities

• Closest relationship with businesses at local level, offering business engagement & support
• Develop, enhance & promote sense of place - this is what today's visitors most want but which is hard to define and promote without intimate local knowledge of what makes each place distinctive and special 
• Product development & packaging - creating new ways to experience the area in line with market trends. This could be anything from new businesses to developing short hands-on experiences
• Local area collaborations, bringing businesses together for mutual support and promotion, often the most cost-effective and enduring 
• Visitor management & quality improvements
• Area marketing & public relations to raise the profile of the local area. Journalists increasingly want to know the smaller details, the in-depth experiences and to understand the sense of place, so local knowledge is key to encourage media coverage, and inclusion in TV programmes. 
• Build visitor loyalty and market knowledge - Yorkshire benefits from a high proportion of repeat visitors. Once some one has visited, there is an opportunity to encourage them to return and recommend to others. This activity works best where there is a direct relationship with the visitor. 

 
Funding for these activities could come from local authorities, businesses and project funding bids. 
 
Welcome To Yorkshire

• When it comes to general awareness of Yorkshire, Welcome to Yorkshire can act as a Yorkshire shop window, using digital marketing to raise awareness of Yorkshire as a destination, before filtering directing visitors to local sites and businesses for more detailed information. 
• Industry lobbying, championing the cause of Yorkshire tourism
• Research & campaign evaluation
• Strategic partnerships eg with Screen Yorkshire, local authorities & network leaders (meshing WTY activities with those undertaken at a local level so there is no duplication)

Activities to attract:

• New markets & increase market size of visitors to Yorkshire
• Business tourism - conferences, events & corporate hospitality
• Large scale events (revenue generating)
• Travel trade, including working with tours operators and group travel organisers

 
There is currently very limited Yorkshire-wide promotion of business tourism to attract conferences, corporate hospitality and large scale events, or work to attract the travel trade. Both these sectors require specialist knowledge and are best attracted by a regional organisation, working in partnership with others. During normal times (post Covid), these sectors are major revenue generators. 

Larger businesses and corporate chains are more likely to benefit from business tourism and travel trade bookings, and have budgets to support this activity. This could be an excellent revenue stream. Other funding for Welcome to Yorkshire activities is likely to come from sponsorship. 

At a more local level, particularly in rural and coastal areas the industry is dominated by small businesses who are now less likely (this is a nationwide issue) to pay for membership fees to a regional organisation. Even before WTY's issues with the former CEO, membership was starting to decline because the market has changed to such an extent and their marketing was through other channels. Given that small businesses will be involved in more local activities as outlined above, there's a danger of duplication. However, Yorkshire has a significant number of larger businesses that may be more able to help fund WTY activities. 

Additional funding for WTY could come from commissioned campaigns, by groups of businesses, a particular sector or local authority where WTY is given a clear brief to undertake a particular campaign or activity, acting as a regional marketing services agency.