Mayor Highlights Huge Opportunities For Scarborough's Year-Round Tourism And Investment

York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith has outlined his vision to expand Scarborough's tourist season and attract major investment through upcoming development projects and a high-profile summit.

York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith believes there are huge opportunities to expand Scarborough's tourist season and secure major investment for the coastal town.

The mayor says that recent events, such as the Scarborough Streets Festival, have demonstrated how the Yorkshire Coast can attract visitors outside of the traditional peak summer months.

York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith said:

"Going around, speaking to a lot of local businesses, and they've really seen a really increase in footfall and actually visitor spend in the last couple of weeks, with this increased weather now.

We've been speaking for some time about how we really elongate the season. We know Scarborough's going to be incredibly busy in August, for example. But how do you spread that out? How do you make it much more of a year-round economy? And so, events like this, with Scarborough Streets, bringing in increased footfall earlier in the season. You've just made that season so much longer. So, hospitality, local businesses, independents can get more spend, more visitors.

But also, those people who work here, they're not just having that seasonal job, they might be for those few months, it's actually longer as well. So, it has huge knock-on benefits, so it's how we could track more people in all year round, it's key to place that Scarborough."

Emphasising the town's distinct character, the mayor highlighted the importance of independent creators and businesses in drawing visitors who are looking for an authentic experience.

David Skaith said:

"Places like Scarborough, I think you don't realize how many local artists, local creators and makers there are in places like this. And that's what makes places like Scarborough so unique. It brings that offer.

People aren't coming to Scarborough because they want to see the same old generic stuff. They want to come and see that uniqueness. And by having that, you have a real vibrancy on your high street, because you don't walk around and just see the same shops to get everywhere else. You've got to see loads of unique makers and crafters and businesses which adds that real character to places like Scarborough."

Beyond cultural events, there is a strong focus on major regeneration projects in the town. The mayor is keen for development projects, such as the plots of land around the Alpamare waterpark, to be progressed.

North Yorkshire Council recently appointed specialist leisure property consultants to market the North Bay attraction and five adjacent development sites. The local authority is seeking a permanent freehold buyer to integrate the waterpark into a broader strategic master plan, following the collapse of the original developer in 2023.

The mayor explained that discussions are already underway to ensure these developments are part of a unified vision for the region, rather than isolated projects.

David Skaith said:

"We're in very deep conversations with North Yorkshire Council now and other developers about the offering that we can bring into Scarborough. We want to package up the whole region as this whole site and I say go, what does Scarborough need? And it's not just a bit piece here and there, the odd project on the high street, the odd development here. It needs to be packaged up together as what is what we want to see from Scarborough.

We have the town investment plans out at the minute as well which we're asking locals and business alike to feed into what they want from their town.

But the opportunity in Scarborough is like nowhere else in the county, quite frankly, and the opportunity is huge. So we're really on board with bringing North Yorkshire Council on that journey as well and we've got a lot of developers who are really keen to come and bring that investment into Scarborough."

To showcase these opportunities and secure a vibrant future for the town, a major event is being organised for later this year to connect the region with potential financial backers.

David Skaith said:

"We've got a big investment summit coming in Scarborough in September time where bringing a huge amount of investors and developers into the region because they're really to come and invest in the region. They just don't know it. They haven't been. We haven't been on that platform before. We haven't had a place like Scarborough on their radar. Well, now we've got an opportunity to do that.

So I think there's going to be a lot, a lot coming over the next few months, Scarborough."

The push for investment aligns with the ongoing efforts to find a permanent custodian for Alpamare, which is currently operated on a short-term lease. The inclusion of the surrounding land parcels, which features a former amusement park plateau, is expected to make the proposition highly attractive to prospective buyers.