Visiting North Yorkshire

It's been a horrendous year-and-a-half for pretty much everyone, all around the world. In the UK, the Tourism and Hospitality industry has been particularly hard-hit and that's no surprise. People were encouraged to holiday in the UK and we were amongst the first to encourage this, advocating "staycations" on BBC Look North back in April 2020. We also championed shopping locally - as many small businesses faced "going to the wall", whilst the big corporates would always find a way to survive. Looking at tourism & hospitality, many independent accommodation providers have folded completely, unable to weather the financial storm in an industry that is largely seasonal anyway. Whilst some new business owners have bravely stepped into the fray, the larger, more "corporate" providers have survived seemingly unscathed and are now, in some cases, charging the earth for a week's stay away. A member-based organisation, Visiting North Yorkshire is at

We said in an earlier post that we'd had a question regarding why we were promoting tourism in North Yorkshire during a lockdown . It was a perfectly pleasant exchange and we answered fully with detail, which the questioner seemed to appreciate and accept. But it's not always like that and this week has seen a similar line of questioning from a Harrogate-based account on Twitter, but this time all they seemed to be interested in was stating " closed for business, stay away & don't look ", or words to that effect. This is sad and extremely short-sighted, not to mention potentially damaging to the tourism industry - already on its knees after a year of, quite frankly, Hell. Today has seen an article in The Guardian , " Britons look 'beyond usual UK hotspots' this summer ." With the sub-heading, " Less familiar destinations expected to benefit from pent-up demand as many opt not to go abroad ", the author, Archie Bland, discusses the c

So we had a comment posted on our Twitter feed yesterday. Nothing rude or offensive, but something which made us raise a collective eyebrow. In response to a tweet promoting one of our valued members, located in Whitby, we received the following; "I love whitby. But why are you promoting accommodation and visiting north Yorkshire when we are in national lockdown???" Our response is copied below as we think it warrants a wider circulation. During times like this it is absolutely critical for tourism organisations not to go "quiet" or "dark". It is a mistake to shut up shop and cease all activity until the latest restrictions are eased. You need to keep publicising your region and, for us at least, our members. What are your thoughts? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - We love #Whitby too! But we don't feel organisations should go "quiet" during periods of lockdown. We we believe that whilst there are restri

North Yorkshire is now firmly in Tier 3, with disturbing rumours that certain areas could be moved up into Tier 4. Many small, independent businesses that managed to keep their heads above water last year face renewed hardships. So what can you do? If you can, where possible, SHOP LOCAL . Your large organisations such as supermarkets will survive this climate - they have enough resources behind them to weather the storm. But the same cannot be said for the smaller, independent businesses that are often the lifeblood of the more rural locations in our County. So take time to think whether you can get your meat, fish, fruit and vegetables from your local butcher, fishmonger or grocer. Your business with them could be the difference between them keeping going or going under. Remember, if a B&B (for example) is forced to shut up shop for the duration of these latest restrictions, then employees such as cleaners or other staff could go without pay. The establishment will also stop buyin

Spare a thought this Christmas, for all those who work in the tourism industry in the UK in general, but the ones in the county of North Yorkshire particularly. North Yorkshire - God's Own County - our "patch". Possibly the only county in the whole of England where tourism is the major driver in the economy. The tourism & hospitality industry has taken the biggest "hit" throughout the entire pandemic in the UK. There was an all-too-brief respite when the first lockdown was lifted and there was a surge in last-minute staycation bookings (as we said would happen on BBC Look North back in April), but things remain grim. Whilst the NHS has been much praised this year, much praise was due to the delivery drivers, shop staff, postal staff and couriers. They kept things going and stayed out of the limelight. We owe them a huge debt of thanks. We give a huge shout out to all the local business-owners, who resolutely pressed on during the most difficult of times. We