Deputy prime minister calls for strategy to boost tourism in the North

THE Deputy Prime Minister has called on Yorkshire to join forces with the rest of the North to lure visitors that are bypassing the region for London and Scotland.

Nick Clegg is pledging £10m from the Regional Growth Fund, along with a proposal to bring together the local knowledge of the 29 individual tourism boards to market the existing strengths of Northern cities and pull together a plan for bringing more people to the North.

Clegg’s ideas aim to “create a vision and plan which will bring more visitors on holiday from at home and abroad to our great Northern cities”.

Clegg said: “It’s absurd that our great North is missing out on visitors when it boasts such stunning countryside, history and culture. Through the Northern Futures project, I asked people what our Northern cities needed in order to compete globally, and to grow.

“Your resounding call is clear – a strong Northern future relies on putting the North back on the map: a top tourist destination. From next year, I’m putting funding in place for there to be a clear strategy for tourism in the North, bringing harmony to the current offer from 29 individual tourism boards into one great offer.”

Clegg highlighted that every year, 4.5 times more visitors flock to London rather than the North, while Scotland has twice as many tourists as Yorkshire or the entire North West.

The whole of the North only accounted for 22% of all visits to English tourist attractions, Clegg said.

He said he wants to see tourists planning visits to Penny Lane and the Beatles Museum in Liverpool, rather than automatically heading to the Abbey Road crossing, taking in the impressive York Minster and the beauty of the Lake District, rather than thinking that Buckingham Palace defines “British pomp”, and  touring the ground of Alnwick Castle which was used as the exterior of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, instead of Windsor Castle seeming like the only option.

Minister for tourism Helen Grant added: “I grew up in Carlisle and know first-hand how important tourism is to the North of England. So I’m passionate about championing the vibrant culture, fascinating heritage and stunning landscapes the north offers to tourists. This £10m fund will build on the success of the Government’s tourism strategy to date, which has bought record numbers of visitors and spend to the UK. But we want to see a greater spread of tourism across the country and this will ensure that the North benefits from this element of our long term economic plan.”

Ring-fenced funding will be channelled into the national tourist body for the country, VisitEngland, with support from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. This will need to be matched by local funds to ensure potential tourists are provided with a compelling joined up picture of what’s on offer in the North.

The deputy prime minister’s announcement comes the day before he hosts the Northern Futures Summit in Leeds, which follows the launch of his major project called Northern Futures – asking people in the North what our Northern cities needed in order to compete globally, and to grow – earlier this year.