How to improve Leeds as a Tourist destination

[Brum X]

Originally Posted by Lad 2011

Second Largest UK city and its geograpical location helps it hell of a lot.

Also i don't mean to bash here but Leeds Makes Birmingham look like a right shit hole.

Again Leeds has missed the boat, where tourists want to go is the old Industrial cities which are interesting, not some new city that only has had a skyline for the last 5/6 years and is overun by annoying students.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/ju...-holiday-spots

[Skychaser 2005]

Originally Posted by Brum X

You folk in Leeds forget though that a city is more than Retail, maybe when it remembers this, it can move forward.
And how was Birmingham lagging behind even before the Bullring, again you folk forget that Birmingham started redevelopment of our regional cities in the late 80s with the very risky construction of our ICC/Symphony Hall/NIA and Brindleypace. Nobody said that it would work in a grotty city like Birmingham, how wrong were they.
Leeds has never built anything on this scale and is only now in 2012 building an arena, it still thinks that building more posh shops is the saving grace of the city. Sorry but we are now in 2012, time to cut back on shopping.

Hold on a minute Brum, you just don't have a clue on what Leeds can deliver in the cultural stakes. It is the home of Opera North, the largest professional opera company outside London. It is based at the Grand Theatre which had a £30m refit a couple of years ago, and we also have the home of the Northern Ballet which is based in its new state of the art £12m centre which launched last year with studios, and theatre. Add the Royal Armouries for starters, and Leeds is far far more than just a retail city.

[joeb85]

BORING!!!!!

[Brum X]

Originally Posted by Skychaser 2005

Hold on a minute Brum, you just don't have a clue on what Leeds can deliver in the cultural stakes. It is the home of Opera North, the largest professional opera company outside London. It is based at the Grand Theatre which had a £30m refit a couple of years ago, and we also have the home of the Northern Ballet which is based in its new state of the art £12m centre which launched last year with studios, and theatre. Add the Royal Armouries for starters, and Leeds is far far more than just a retail city.

So if Leeds is so beautiful and gawjus and has great shopping and a ballet company and lovely countryside around it, why does it not attract more tourists ???

[Aaronj09]

Originally Posted by Brum X

Not saying it doesnt, however the proof is in the pudding and Brum attracts 3 x more tourists than Leeds.

So more to the point, why is this ????

Because Birmingham is bigger and more well known.

Personally I think this whole thread is just pointless. I don't give two shits whether or not Leeds is a tourist destination or not, I just give a shit about living here. If Birmingham wants to put tourists ahead of sorting out the shitty mess the city's economy is in, then good luck to Birmingham!

[Lad 2011]

Originally Posted by Brum X

Again Leeds has missed the boat, where tourists want to go is the old Industrial cities which are interesting, not some new city that only has had a skyline for the last 5/6 years and is overun by annoying students.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/ju...-holiday-spots

A skyline has absolutely no relevance whats so ever with attracting overseas tourist

Leeds on street level is 50x better than Birmingham on street level and i'd even go as far as saying even skyline wise but thats not relevant to the average tourist.

Tourist come to see architecture on (street level) and i don't mean 1960's piss poor concrete architecture, they come to see streets of historic quality buildings that are unique and different to what they are used to, they also come for the attractions which Leeds has many probably just as many and just as good as Birminghams.

I also don't see how students are annoying they actually improve cities.

[Brum X]

Originally Posted by Aaronj09

Because Birmingham is bigger and more well known.

Personally I think this whole thread is just pointless. I don't give two shits whether or not Leeds is a tourist destination or not, I just give a shit about living here.

So being the Second city does actually have its benefits, thats why its important for us to keep it.

Im going now, need my sleep.

Iim not a troll just trying to have a debate with you leeds folks about the question you asked.
Nite

[joeb85]

Originally Posted by Aaronj09

Personally I think this whole thread is just pointless. I don't give two shits whether or not Leeds is a tourist destination or not, I just give a shit about living here. If Birmingham wants to put tourists ahead of sorting out the shitty mess the city's economy is in, then good luck to Birmingham!

Then please stop commenting! PLEASE!!!!

[this_city]

Originally Posted by joeb85

Then please stop commenting! PLEASE!!!!

welcome to the internets!

[joeb85]

Originally Posted by this_city

welcome to the internets!

Thank you for the patronising welcome Strangely my speciality is cyber identity and cyber education so you would think I would have learnt by now not to tell the tide to turn back.

[this_city]

anyone who doesn't expect madness on an internet forum should be considered crazy although one thing that does always come through is how passionate the majority of contributors to these boards are...most people take pride in their cities and want them to be the best (even if that means a little bashing of other cities here and there ).

[Leeds No.1]

Tourists won't be attracted by shopping, but day visitors will.

Leeds has a good tourist offering, it just needs to shout about it more. Everyone knows about the arcades, the Armouries and the councils much-touted attractions, but what about Harewood House, the Medical Museum or our massive carnival, piano-forte, film festival or arts offering? Leeds blows other cities out of the water in those areas- but hardly anyone knows about them. Instead the council seems more focused on pushing events like Leeds Loves Food. I have no problem with these, but there's so much more potential in our long standing cultural festivals.

Leeds also needs to be firmly established as the modern centre of Yorkshire. Yorkshire is an incredibly strong brand known internationally, and with an aggressive marketing campaign- the world's best in fact for two years running. Leeds would be foolish not to tag onto this. The city should be selling itself as the hub of Yorkshire- any visit to Yorkshire must include Leeds. It's the perfect place to explore Yorkshire so why not sell this more? Really the only parts of Yorkshire you can't get to easily from Leeds without a car are the extreme north east and north western parts of Yorkshire. The key to Leeds' success is recognising the strength of the Yorkshire brand.

[this_city]

Originally Posted by Leeds No.1

Leeds also needs to be firmly established as the modern centre of Yorkshire. Yorkshire is an incredibly strong brand known internationally, and with an aggressive marketing campaign- the world's best in fact for two years running. Leeds would be foolish not to tag onto this. The city should be selling itself as the hub of Yorkshire- any visit to Yorkshire must include Leeds. It's the perfect place to explore Yorkshire so why not sell this more? Really the only parts of Yorkshire you can't get to easily from Leeds without a car are the extreme north east and north western parts of Yorkshire. The key to Leeds' success is recognising the strength of the Yorkshire brand.

as someone who relies on public transport for journeys not in walking distance i'd say i agree with this statement. over the last year the missus and i have been all over the region sorting out wedding related goodness and it's been surprising to us how relatively simple and painless (and not overly expensive) it's been to get out and about in Yorkshire.

[joeb85]

Originally Posted by this_city

anyone who doesn't expect madness on an internet forum should be considered crazy although one thing that does always come through is how passionate the majority of contributors to these boards are...most people take pride in their cities and want them to be the best (even if that means a little bashing of other cities here and there ).

But if you are truly proud, you should let the merits of the city (or whatever) do the talking, not rely on putting down other cities to make your own city seem better.

Relax

[joeb85]

Originally Posted by Leeds No.1

Tourists won't be attracted by shopping, but day visitors will.

Leeds has a good tourist offering, it just needs to shout about it more. Everyone knows about the arcades, the Armouries and the councils much-touted attractions, but what about Harewood House, the Medical Museum or our massive carnival, piano-forte, film festival or arts offering? Leeds blows other cities out of the water in those areas- but hardly anyone knows about them. Instead the council seems more focused on pushing events like Leeds Loves Food. I have no problem with these, but there's so much more potential in our long standing cultural festivals.

Leeds also needs to be firmly established as the modern centre of Yorkshire. Yorkshire is an incredibly strong brand known internationally, and with an aggressive marketing campaign- the world's best in fact for two years running. Leeds would be foolish not to tag onto this. The city should be selling itself as the hub of Yorkshire- any visit to Yorkshire must include Leeds. It's the perfect place to explore Yorkshire so why not sell this more? Really the only parts of Yorkshire you can't get to easily from Leeds without a car are the extreme north east and north western parts of Yorkshire. The key to Leeds' success is recognising the strength of the Yorkshire brand.

Well done this man. He obviously knows his beans! I am running some cultural events at the moment for tourists so any ideas. Please suggest.

[Aaronj09]

Originally Posted by joeb85

Then please stop commenting! PLEASE!!!!

Please, grow up. It's just the internet, why do people take it so seriously?

[di Livio]

Originally Posted by Brum X

Birmingham attracts more tourists than Leeds and is generally seen as a grotty industrial city.

At least we agree on something.

[giocoliere]

Originally Posted by LeedsLad

I find those stats difficult to believe/understand... Do York/Bath/Chester really have less foreign visitors than Birmingham/Newcastle/Leeds?! You can't move for foreign tourists in York/Bath/Chester, yet I'd say you rarely see them in the larger cities... Unless the student/football/airport visitors are skewing things...

Statistics should always be taken with a pinch of salt.

I think the 'type' of tourist you get in Bath et al. and Birmingham et al. are very different. Bath is more likely to get coach loads of organised Chinese or Japanese tour groups, with their matching sun visors and cameras around their necks. In Birmingham at least, it's rare to see something like that even though the tourists are amongst us.

What Birmingham, and I think other 'non-traditional' visitor destinations have is a more independent tourist, one that blends in, works things out by themselves and is less conspicuous. Also in larger destinations like Birmingham, visitors blend more easily into the surroundings because the destinations themselves are already so diverse. I couldn't tell you, walking down Birmingham's New Street, which people are just visiting and which ones have lived here for years. It's one thing that makes Birmingham so beautiful in its diversity.

[giocoliere]

In response to this thread's opening question, my suggestion is authenticity. Too many places offer the same things - the same shops, same restaurants etc. What destinations need to capitalise in is what is unique - independent retail, locally sourced markets, local talent opening restaurants, local artists who respond to their surroundings etc These things will enable Leeds, or any other destination, to show its visitors "this is what we do here - come and see for yourself!"

Despite the economy being on its knees, these are the periods when creativity and grass-root organisations can really come to the fore. Something simple, yet effective which is starting in Birmingham now is 48Sheet (http://www.ec-arts.com/2011/07/48-sheet-3/).

Keep things simple, use the resources you already have and just be creative!

[MattN]

Originally Posted by Brum X

Again Leeds has missed the boat, where tourists want to go is the old Industrial cities which are interesting, not some new city that only has had a skyline for the last 5/6 years and is overun by annoying students.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/ju...-holiday-spots

Do you think Leeds isn't an old industrial city then?