06/08/2009

96% of visitors to Yorkshire said they would recommend a stay to friends and a fantastic 99% of visitors stated they'd recommend a stay in York. 

Key findings for York from the Visitor Survey included:

55% of visitors were staying overnight, significantly higher than the regional average of 35%.

45% were day visitors consequently much lower than the regional average of 65%.

The majority of UK visits came from Yorkshire, London and the South East, the North East and the Midlands. 

There has been an Increase in the percentage of visitors from Yorkshire and Humber (38% in 08/09 v 29% 07/08) and a decrease in the percentage of visitors from London/South East (15% to 10%). Other visitors came from the Midlands (13% v 16% in 07/08), North East (11% v 10% in 07/08) and North West (10% v 9% in 07/08).

There has been a decrease in overseas visits to York (now making up 13% of all visits) compared to 15% in the previous year (08/09 compared with 07/08).  However this is still the highest percentage of oversees visitors across Yorkshire where the average is 5%.

When looking in detail at overseas visits, there has been a significant increase in the percentage of North American visitors (35% of all overseas visits in 08/09 compared to 25% in 07/08).   So whilst the total number of overseas visits is slightly down, visits from the United States are showing a recovery.

There has also been an increase in the percentage of visitors from Australasia (24% of all overseas visits in 08/09 compared to 16% in 07/08).   There was a decrease in the percentage of European visitors (34% of all overseas visits in 08/09 compared to 44% in 08/09). 

Good news for Visit York is the Increase in the length of stay in the city to 4.6 days from 3.95 days in 07/08 - this is an average across all accommodation stock including self catering. The Yorkshire average was 5.2 days.   Length of stay in York has consistently increased over the last ten years (2.99 days back in 03/04).

Visitors travelling to York by train decreased by 2% - 25% of all visits in 08/09 v 27% in 07/08.  This is still the highest percentage of visitors travelling to Yorkshire by train - the regional average sits at 8%.  There has been a 6% increase in visitors traveling to York by car (65% in 08/09 v 59% in 07/08). 

The most popular activities which visitors took part in included; strolling around and enjoying the ambience (80%), visiting cultural attractions (75%), eating and drinking (64%) and shopping (53%).   Suggested improvements for York were lower prices (7%), cheaper car parking (6%), better signage (3%) and better weather (3%).

Visitors were asked to rate a range of facilities and features, York scored highly on a number of aspects, using a sliding scale where 1= poor and 5= excellent:

The range of shops and quality of goods on offer both rated 4.4 - higher than the regional average (4).  The range of visitor attractions and the quality of service both rated 4.6.

77% of visitors had been to the city before (80% in 07/08).

A fantastic 99% of visitors stated that they would recommend a holiday in York to a friend or family (regional average 96%).  31% of visitors to York said they were planning to visit other parts of Yorkshire.

Gillian Cruddas, Chief Executive of Visit York said, ‘We're delighted to see an increase in North American visits, an increase in length of stay and most satisfying of all that 99% of York's visitors said they would recommend a stay to their friends and relatives.

We still have work to do, however, for example on attracting European visits, increasing visits by rail and making sure we continue to offer good value for money.   These results show us where we are getting things right and where we can make improvements.  We're confident by working together with Welcome to Yorkshire and tourism businesses in the city and surroundings that we can make York the most successful tourism destination in the UK.' 

Favourite places to visit included: York Minster, Jorvik, the National Railway Museum, the Yorkshire Air Museum, the shops, Betty's Café Tea Rooms, the Quilt Museum, Clifford's Tower and the Castle Museum.  Visitors said they loved the museum gardens, walks by the riverside, the architecture and old pubs, the beer, the variety of smaller shops and even the squirrels. 

What some visitors said:

‘Seeing the Flying Scotsman at the National Railway Museum was the highlight for me, as I'd been on it as a child'.

‘The variety of shops in York is exceptional'

‘I feel safe and at peace walking around York, it's very relaxing'

‘We love York's good shops, good people, good food and drink and amazing history'.

ENDS

For more information, please contact Kay Hyde, PR Manager, Visit York, Tel: 01904 554451, email: kh@visityork.org 

Notes to the Editor

Annual ‘Regional Visitor Survey'

This year Visit York joined forces with Welcome to Yorkshire to take part in the largest survey of its kind to be undertaken in England, providing York and Yorkshire with valuable and robust data to keep it ahead of its competitors.  This survey replaced the York specific Visitor Survey, which has been used over the last ten years.  Whilst the majority of questions are comparable changes in the methodology may cause some discrepancies when comparing historical data.  *NB total visitor numbers will be available when the Regional Economic Impact study will be available from Welcome to Yorkshire next month.

The regional visitor survey involves over 10,000 face-to-face interviews with visitors from across the region and provides detailed information about visitor profiles and their attitudes and behaviour whilst in Yorkshire.

Annual ‘Economic Impact Study'

The economic impact study utilizes information from the Regional Visitor Survey and other local and national sources to calculate key economic statistics such as total visitor numbers, total spend and number of jobs created by tourism.  Results from this survey will be available shortly.

The initial summary results can now be seen on:

http://www.welcometoyorkshire.net/Research/Market-Intelligence/Regional-Visitor-Survey.aspx

What is Visit York?

Visit York is the new driving force for the city's tourism industry and the official tourism body for York and the surrounding area.  Visit York aims to create a stronger more integrated approach to tourism, working with businesses, Yorkshire Forward and Welcome to Yorkshire.  It was formed on 1st April 2008 and brought together the City Council, the York Hospitality Association and the former York Tourism Bureau.   The Chairman is John Yeomans and the Chief Executive is Gillian Cruddas.

Its aim is to market York as a must-see world-class destination to the leisure and business visitor, and ensure investment to develop the quality of tourism in York.   It is responsible for leisure and conference marketing, visitor services (running the city's Visitor Information Centres), training and developing the tourism product.  Visit York aims to increase the value of the visitor economy by at least 5% annually.

Tourism in York already makes a huge contribution to the well-being of the city, however, Visit York aims to drive this to a higher level. 

York Tourism Figures:

·       4.09 million visitors a year (2007/2008) -  Figures for 08/09 to available shortly

·       £364 million spent in York each year (2007/2008 ) - Figures for 08/09 to be available shortly

·       10,646  jobs in York created by tourism (2007/2008) - Figures for 08/09 to be available shortly

·       Staying visitors generated 2 million bednights (2007/2008) - Figures for 08/09 to be available shortly

·       13% of visitors are from overseas (around a third of these from North America)

·      Top overseas markets for York include USA, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium

                                             08-09                          07-08                    06-07         

UK v Overseas:

UK                                           87%               85% (3,483,300)    85% (3,554,700) 

Overseas                                13%               15% (614,700)        15% (627,300)   

Of Overseas:

N America                               35%                 25% (151,830)        26% (163,098)   

Europe                                    34%                 44% (270,468)        47% (294,831)   

Australasia                              24%                  16% (98,352)          14% (87,822)    

Far East                                   4%                  11% (65,158)         6.5% (40,774)   

Rest of the world                     3%                  4% (27,046)          6.5% (40,774)   

Of UK:

Yorkshire/Humber                   38%                 29% (1,010,157)    29% (1,030,863) 

London/SE/East                      10%                 15% (522,495)        17% (604,299)   

North East                               11%                 10% (348,330)        11% (391,017)   

North West                              10%                9% (313,497)         12% (426,564)   

Midlands (East/West)              13%                16% (557,328)        14% (497,658)   

Scotland                                   5%                  7% (243,831)          9% (319,923)