Tourism now worth £8bn to Yorkshire economy

New research has revealed that tourism is now worth £8bn to the Yorkshire economy.

This figure, from new independent research carried out by Sheffield Hallam University, is a 14% increase since the last report in 2011 when tourism was worth £7bn.

The news was revealed in front of a thousand-strong audience at Welcome to Yorkshire’s Y18 conference at Bradford’s Alhambra Theatre and comes in the middle of English Tourism Week.

Welcome to Yorkshire also unveiled multi-million-pound marketing campaigns to boost tourism, which will see the county promoted both domestically and globally.

Over the next 10 years, £5m is being spent to promote the North York Moors, £1m of that will be spent over the next 18 months.

A campaign is getting underway with adverts in cinemas, radio and on TV as well as in titles such as Cycling Weekly, Marie Claire and Woman and Home.

An additional £1m has also been pledged from the Discover England Fund, led by Visit England, to promote Yorkshire as a top cycling holiday destination in Europe. Welcome to Yorkshire will be creating bookable tourism products to target travellers in Germany and the Netherlands.

Another brand new campaign was launched, in partnership with Bradford Council, that will showcase the city’s diverse food and drink scene through new trails, food offers and reviews by some of the country’s top writers and bloggers.

Stars of stage, screen and sport also joined Welcome to Yorkshire’s event to make other big announcements.

The reigning Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire Champion Lizzie Deignan was on stage as news was unveiled of a Bradford start for the 2019 UCI Road World Cycling Championships.

Lizzie also talked about her role as Ambassador of the brand new Cycle Expo Yorkshire, which will see 20,000 cycling fans travel to Harrogate in October.

Former Olympian Brendan Foster CBE came on stage to reveal more about The Great Exhibition of the North taking place this summer, which will culminate at the Great North Run.

Emmerdale star Dominic Brunt, who plays vet Paddy Kirk in the soap, also celebrated Yorkshire’s attractions including Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Scarborough’s Open Air Theatre, Eureka, Cannon Hall Farm and Yorkshire Wildlife Park.

Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “What an epic event it has been, I couldn’t have wished for a better day for our 10th Y conference. This has been a fantastic showcase for Yorkshire where we’ve made some huge announcements that shows once again Yorkshire is leading the way.

“It’s fantastic news that tourism in Yorkshire is now worth an incredible £8bn to the county’s economy. Add to that the record breaking visitor numbers that many of our top attractions have had and it just goes to show just how strong the Yorkshire brand really is.

“We are on all time high and I couldn’t be prouder of everyone’s hard work. Yorkshire is competing on a global scale to be a top visitor destination.”