Tourism bosses have heralded the strength of the industry in North Yorkshire after the first county-wide study of visitor economy recorded 31 million people spending a collective £4 billion last year.
Visit North Yorkshire, which was set up following the collapse of Welcome to Yorkshire, revealed the huge figures at the Great Yorkshire Show, while admitting the tourism industry continues to face significant challenges.
The North Yorkshire Council-run body is aiming to capitalise on the county’s brand, using well-known destinations as anchors to allow visitors to explore the more of the county.
The authority’s leader, Councillor Carl Les, said:
“The release of these new figures not only confirms the importance of tourism to our local economy, but it also provides a baseline to work from as we begin an exciting new journey for the visitor economy in North Yorkshire.
“The value of the visitor economy must not be underestimated which is why we have made it a priority for us. It supports tens of thousands of jobs and sees visitors come to the county from across the world, and we are committed to ensuring that the sector continues to grow.”
Gemma Rio, the authority’s head of tourism said among the “both pleasing and surprising” findings of the study had been that the average length of stay for visitors in North Yorkshire was four nights, while the average across the UK was 2.8 nights.
She said:
“We are significantly ahead of the average because people like to visit multiple destinations in North Yorkshire, so visitors do extend their stay. That’s really important because overnight stays are where the money is for our visitor economy.
“In North Yorkshire we are feeling very positive, these figures show the visitor economy performed very well in 2023 and gives us confidence as we head into the peak season.”
The report also found tourism in county supported 38,486 jobs, through direct and indirect jobs, making up 13 per cent of employment in the county.
While the tourism body believes having an understanding of the value of the visitor economy will be key for its future visitor promotion work, the county’s tourism industry is still facing twin challenges from the cost of living crisis and staff recruitment.
Gemma Rio said it appeared for many areas the hospitality businesses were "not suffering as much as they did post-Covid” in finding staff.
She said Visit North Yorkshire recently became an accredited local visitor economy partnership with York and among its priorities was examining how the councils could support the industry to tackle the staffing issue.
Gemma Rio said;
“It’s a difficult challenge because it’s a national issue and not something one organisation could fix, so we want to bring together a number of key players.
“Some areas are suffering more than others, but it’s something we are hoping to address collectively.”
Cllr Les added:
“The Great Yorkshire Show is just one example of activity that can attract visitors into the county. With more than 140,000 visitors attending, there is great opportunity to showcase our destination to this captive audience.
“The Visit North Yorkshire stand will do just that by providing useful information to showgoers about what they can see and do in the area with the objective of encouraging extended and return visits.
“We are extremely lucky to have so many wonderful tourism assets in North Yorkshire, from the Yorkshire Dales, the North York Moors and towns including Harrogate, Scarborough and Whitby as well as a wide range of historical sites, cultural venues, outdoor experiences, a fantastic food and drink offer and a lively programme of events for visitors to enjoy.”
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