Yorkshire's flag flying goes far beyond Welcome to Yorkshire
Yorkshire's tourism achievements aren't only due to Welcome to Yorkshire
Welcome to Yorkshire's work has certainly been good in terms of putting Yorkshire on the visitor map but for far too long there's been an assumption that most of the achievements have been due to WtY alone.
It hasn't. There are many smaller organisations and initiatives across the county that are successfully raising awareness of Yorkshire's delights to new audiences and championing the businesses that aren't awash with sizeable marketing budgets.
The recent revelations about Gary Verity and his departure from Welcome to Yorkshire have turned the spotlight very firmly on the need for transparency and accountability particularly when an organisation is funded through taxpayers’ money and directly through individual business membership fees.
For me it has also highlighted why it’s important to not put your eggs all in one basket, namely relying on a single organisation to promote how great our beautiful county is to visitors.
Yes Welcome to Yorkshire can rightly hold their head high knowing they have put Yorkshire on the map particularly among cycle-loving holidaymakers, but as Susan Briggs of the Tourism Network rightly pointed out, WtY isn't the only body promoting Yorkshire.
There are so many other organisations who are working equally as hard and achieving just as much when it comes to attracting visitors and working with businesses to improve their visitor offer.
Many assume that Welcome to Yorkshire is behind ALL these successes but the reality is often different. It can be difficult for one, over-arching body to know absolutely everything and represent all businesses equally in a county as large and diverse as Yorkshire.
Often more localised tourism organisations have greater grass roots knowledge of their patch, can be more accessible and more nimble in the way they operate. They are also more likely to support the smaller attractions and tourism businesses who aren’t awash with huge sums of money for marketing.
I know from my experience of working with the travel press that journalists often appreciate information from sources where there’s a deeper level of knowledge whether it’s knowing about a new B&B, a walk that will perfectly fit the bill for a round-up feature or a lesser-known attraction that deserves recognition.
This is why the talk of Welcome to Yorkshire’s future structure and funding rightly deserves scrutiny, partly because many smaller business members do not feel as though they are getting value for money.
Equally though those same businesses perhaps need to take off the blinkers and look beyond the WTY logo as the ultimate ‘badge of honour’ and see how they can benefit from the support of other bodies.
