Literature festival boost town's standing (From Ilkley Gazette)
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Literature festival boost town's standing
11:22am Thursday 10th June 2010 in Opinion/Letters By Editor
A LOT of time and effort goes in from tourism organisations to get Ilkley on the map, and maintain the town's position there.
Be it promoting the beauty of the landscape, or marketing the genteel elegance and simple pleasures, much is being done to put Ilkley firmly on the list of ‘must do’ places to visit, boosting the local tourism and daytripper trade, and the local economy in general.
Singlehandedly, however, one festival out of several in the local calendar manages to get the town’s name known far and wide, and brings people back year after year.
Ilkley Literature Festival has for many years now consistently landed some of the biggest names in the literary world, also netting major names who are known for much more than their writing skills, from the worlds of television, politics and popular culture.
This year’s festival is already shaping up to be no exception, successfully landing big names that will no doubt bring large numbers of visitors into town as well as being greatly appreciated by literature lovers closer to home.
It is a tribute to the organisers of the festival that a relatively small town in the North of England can succeed in attracting household names, especially when there must be so many other event organisers across the country, and abroad, who are no doubt also working hard on their own bids to secure top writers and celebrities for their own events.
As well as adding to the attractions of living, or staying, in the Ilkley area, the festival does a lot to boost the profile of the town, and perhaps reaching many potential visitors who might never come across the more general tourism and marketing material promoting Ilkley’s many attributes.
There is a chance that some of the thousands who come in to Literature Festival events will also take a look at what else the area has to offer and maybe consider paying an additional visit at another time of year.
