Cycling UK Forum

Welcome to Yorkshire boss James Mason to step down

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-58627432
(Edited to add the missing link)

thirdcrank wrote: ↑16 Sep 2020, 8:53am The financial problems of Welcome to Yorkshire drag on.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-54163091

There was an item about this on the BBC regional news saying that if they did get another bail-out, they might be concentrating on golf in future.

The BBC article links to Wakefield declining to cough up £78,000(?) to support tourism. Since when was Wakefield a Tourist destination? Of course I could be completely wrong but it seems to me that WTY have failed to demonstrate to Wakefield that they give them value for money.

Here's the Welcome to Yorkshire "Wakefield" page

https://www.yorkshire.com/places/west-y ... /wakefield

thirdcrank wrote: ↑21 Sep 2021, 9:27pm Here's the Welcome to Yorkshire "Wakefield" page

https://www.yorkshire.com/places/west-y ... /wakefield

Very pretty website page. Does that demonstrate what Wakefield get for £78k? You’d have to pay me to go to Wakefield and likewise pretty much any other place in the West Riding too. That’s not to say the the West Riding doesn’t have some interesting things in it but rather that what it has to offer isn’t that attractive to holiday makers. Travel up from London and spend a week of your annual leave in Scarborough, York or Wakefield, that’s a hard choice isn’t it?

Edit. This might entertain, bit near (what was perhaps) the truth as well : https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ivPWP_6tG4M

It's something about which I really don't care. My only reason for posting about the ongoing troubles at Welcome to Yorkshire is that this is so closely bound up with top level bike racing in these parts. Tour de Yorkshire, Grand départ, and the Worlds.

In administration now and the sorry state of the finances is slowly being revealed.

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/po ... nd-3665214

thirdcrank wrote: ↑23 Apr 2022, 9:32am In administration now and the sorry state of the finances is slowly being revealed.

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/po ... nd-3665214

OTOH the new 'owners' are looking at ways to resurrect the brand and indeed the Tour.

£78k seems a small amount of money to generate a good tourism return

Dingdong wrote: ↑5 May 2022, 8:56am £78k seems a small amount of money to generate a good tourism return

+1

Our local council would blow 80k on a third rate flower show...

Dingdong wrote: ↑6 May 2022, 9:02am Our local council would blow 80k on a third rate flower show...

And yet, the first-rate Spalding flower festival died after losing all government funding and Wisbech Rose Fair is organised by charities and still run on donations year-to-year (AIUI). Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, Lisse council set their flower festival up into a permanent charity and charge entry fees, now being self-funded with income of €25m a year!

mjr wrote: ↑6 May 2022, 9:42am

Dingdong wrote: ↑6 May 2022, 9:02am Our local council would blow 80k on a third rate flower show...

And yet, the first-rate Spalding flower festival died after losing all government funding and Wisbech Rose Fair is organised by charities and still run on donations year-to-year (AIUI). Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, Lisse council set their flower festival up into a permanent charity and charge entry fees, now being self-funded with income of €25m a year!

There's brass in muck!