Visiting North Yorkshire

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...