An academic from Huddersfield University says it is “scandalous” that Huddersfield doesn’t have a tourist information office.

Economist Prof Colin Bamford, associate dean of the Business School, said the lack of information for tourists made it harder for the town to cash in on the Tour de France.

“People talk about a legacy but I think it’s scandalous we don’t have a tourist office in Huddersfield,” he said.

“The challenge now is one of sustainability. After all the huffing and puffing of the London Olympics it all went flat in the space of a few weeks.

“In Huddersfield when someone arrives at the railway station we don’t want to have to send them all the way to the library for two or three pamphlets about the local area.

“The opportunity is there and it’s up to us to make the most of it.”

 

Prof Bamford, who saw the Tour at Chapel Hill on Sunday and then watched the rest on TV, added: “I don’t think we realised the significance of the Tour in other European countries until it happened. It’s huge.

“Another problem in Kirklees is that we don’t have the tourist beds and camp sites they tend to have in other parts of Europe.”

 

Prof Bamford reckoned that Holmfirth was probably best placed to build on the Tour legacy and said: “It was a fantastic advert and the Pennine heritage is what we can build on.”

Tour de France in Holmfirth
Tour de France in Holmfirth

 

 

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