Revamped website for townto cost £ 165,000

HARROGATE BOROUGH Council has revealed that revamping its tourism website and launching a new “destination management system” will cost more than £ 165,000.

The authority has awarded a four- year contract to Ipswichbased marketing firm Jacob Bailey Group to rebuild and maintain VisitHarrogate.co.uk which it took over control of in April last year.

It said the outdated site had suffered from years of “historic underinvestment” and that it needed replacing to boost next year’s tourism season which will “decide the fate” for many Covid-hit hospitality businesses.

However, the council was forced on to the defensive as it faced criticism that the contract was handed to the firm without a tender process.

The authority said a full tender process would have taken six months to complete and that the “exceptional circumstances” of the pandemic justified a relaxation of procurement rules. It also argued “very few companies in the UK have the expertise, skills or experience” to carry out the work, adding “to the best of our knowledge there are none in the local area”.

The council said Jacob Bailey Group would not just provide a new website, but also “a complete set of tourism management tools,” including databases of marketing information for accommodation, businesses and visitor attractions, and event and booking services.

“A front- end website is just one part of this overall system,” it said.

Before being taken over by the council, Visit Harrogate was first launched in 2013 by now- dissolved firm Welcome to Harrogate Ltd.

The new contract with Jacob Bailey Group is worth £ 165,319. In a new statement, the council said the company’s work will support plans to merge Harrogate’s various tourism bodies into one council- controlled organisation.