Wakefield Council relaunches Experience Wakefield website to boost tourism in Covid recovery

Wakefield Council has committed to the role tourism and attractions will play in the district's recovery with a website revamp.
Yorkshire Sculpture ParkYorkshire Sculpture Park
Yorkshire Sculpture Park

The council's Experience Wakefield website has been relaunched to keep residents and visitors up to date with everything that is happening across the district this summer, and beyond.

More than 80 new businesses have been added to the website, including 60 food and drink establishments, bringing the total of business listings to 278.

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Experience Wakefield now also benefits from web accessibility solution Recite-Me to ensure the website is accessible to all.

There are also 30 new guides and itineraries commissioned and written by digital editors who know and love Wakefield and a new map to allow residents and visitors to explore the attractions and highlights of the district.

The relaunch of Experience Wakefield is part of the council’s Tourism Recovery Plan, to help sustain businesses across the sector, many of which have been significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and to safeguard jobs and opportunities for local people.

Tourism in the district is responsible for 9,000 local jobs and the sector generated £507.2 million in income in 2019.

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Coun Michael Graham, Wakefield Council s Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport, said: “Our tourism sector matters in so many ways, not only through supplying employment to thousands of people but also in providing residents and communities with many leisure and learning opportunities.

“It has been a very difficult time for the industry across the country, including in our district. But we will recover and I am pleased that we are taking the first steps forward to promote tourism, support partners and engage with residents.

“The district is a great place not just for business but also for lifestyle, with access to some of the country’s best cultural assets, like The Hepworth and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. We have a fantastic city, towns and communities, breath-taking Yorkshire landscape, leading businesses, great brands, history and heritage – with so many stories to tell.

“If you’re looking for something to do over the summer, stay local, support local businesses and discover all the wonderful things our district has to offer.”

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Other Tourism Recovery Plan outcomes include the return of Doorstep Discoveries this month, a newspaper packed full of fun activities for all, ranging from exhibitions and festivals, to grow-your-own at home and day trips out for the whole family.

Residents and visitors can pick up their copy at one of more than 30 hubs throughout the district, including all libraries, as well as cultural venues and community centres from 15 June.

Wakefield Council has also awarded five grants to key partners with the aim of supporting the recovery of cultural attractions by encouraging grant recipients to deliver projects and events that will engage local audiences as part of the wider Festival of the Earth programme aimed at promoting the Wakefield district as a vibrant cultural destination.

The council has appointed Aberfield Communications to conduct a summer PR campaign to promote tourism in the district and support the economic recovery of the sector.

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Finally, the council launched the Business Affiliation/Membership Subsidy - a grant mechanism for Wakefield tourism businesses that employ less than 10 people who wish to join a business support network to assist them through the recovery – to find out more and request an application form, please email [email protected]

Visit the new Experience Wakefield website at https://experiencewakefield.co.uk/