Welcome to Yorkshire goes into administration

Welcome to Yorkshire aimed to promote the whole county to tourists at home and abroad

Yorkshire's main tourism body has gone into administration after council leaders agreed to cut off its funding.

Welcome to Yorkshire (WtY) has faced a torrid three years amid the coronavirus pandemic and the departure of two chief executives.

On Monday, local government leaders agreed to stop the agency's public funding, and called for a "new approach" to marketing the region.

WtY chair Peter Box said this meant it could not continue in its current form.

He said the past three years had been "increasingly challenging" for WtY as it "endeavoured to deal with well-publicised legacy issues".

These included the resignation of former chief executive Sir Gary Verity in March 2019 following concerns over his expenses, and wider criticisms about the way it was financed and run.

Sir Gary, who denies any wrongdoing, was replaced by James Mason, who stepped down in October 2021.

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It was announced in August 2021 that the Tour de Yorkshire cycling race, organised by WtY, would not go ahead in 2022 for the third year in a row due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"These matters, coupled with the impact of Covid and the task of securing sufficient funding from the public and private sectors to place WtY on a sound financial footing, have made the situation increasingly challenging," Mr Box said.

The organisation was behind the Tour de Yorkshire cycling race

The decision to stop funding was recommended by an independent review commissioned by the Yorkshire Leaders Board, which is made up of council leaders and mayors.

Mr Box said the findings could have given WtY the structure and long-term funding to move forward.

"Sadly, the decision of the Yorkshire leaders not to commit to a multi-year funding package, whilst understandable, removed that pathway and means that WtY cannot continue in its present form," Mr Box said.

Analysis

David Rhodes, BBC Look North

Like many tourism organisations, the pandemic had financially rocked WtY and taxpayers were being asked to bail out the business at an annual cost of £2m.

So what's next for tourism in Yorkshire?

Sources have told the BBC that councils across the region have started work on potentially setting up a new venture to promote the county.

This new venture might be directly controlled by local authorities and operate as public body, working in the public view and subject to Freedom of Information laws.

Taxpayers could primarily fund the new body, but its running costs would be less than the £2m a year WtY received from the public purse.

Council leaders have at times winced at the negative headlines WtY has generated in recent years, but they also recognise the positive role it's played in promoting tourism in the region and the creation of the Tour de Yorkshire cycling race.

So much so it's understood that local authorities are exploring ways in which the race may be resurrected in the coming years.

Barnsley Council leader Stephen Houghton, who co-chairs the board, said WtY had played a "pivotal role" in bringing high-profile sporting events and investment to the region and said it had done a "phenomenal job" for over thirty years.

"But a lot has changed and, following consideration of the views of our public and private sector stakeholders on the current arrangements, we have unanimously agreed that a new approach is needed," he said.

Armstrong Watson LLP have been appointed as joint administrators for WtY.

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