New figures have revealed that tourism contributed more than £4 billion to North Yorkshire’s visitor economy last year, attracting in excess of 31 million people to sample the delights of the county.
The data highlights a strong outlook for the sector, as the summer holiday season gets underway with the average length of stay for visitors in North Yorkshire being four nights and surpassing the national average of 2.8 nights as recorded by Visit England.
The report also demonstrates how the local tourism industry supports 38,486 jobs through direct and indirect employment making up 13 per cent of all employment across North Yorkshire.
The figures have been collected for the first time on a county-wide scale using the STEAM model, which measures the economic impact of visits to an area. This provides an important baseline for the future growth of the sector.
North Yorkshire Council leader, Cllr 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.”
Tourism businesses in York and North Yorkshire are already being given more support through a vision to help to ensure that the multi-billion pound visitor economy reaches its full potential.
It was announced in November last year that a joint bid for a Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) for both York and North Yorkshire had been approved, paving the way for a far more co-ordinated and strategic approach to promoting the tourism sector.
LVEPs have been introduced as part of the national response to an independent review of how the country’s visitor economy is co-ordinated and promoted and have the potential to draw in additional support and funding from Westminster.
The partnership, which was approved by a panel involving the Visit England tourism organisation and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, is aimed at ensuring that the greatest benefits are achieved for both York and North Yorkshire’s visitor economy.
