26/05/2011

A special first birthday is being celebrated this week in York as a new record for visitor numbers is marked.  One year ago (27th May 2010)Visit York's state of the art Information Centre opened its doors at 1 Museum Street.  The centre replaced the information provision at the De Grey rooms and aimed to generate a 40% increase in visits through the door in its first year of operation. 

Almost 400,000 people from the UK and across the globe have used the centre since it first opened a year ago - a record breaking 60% increase - and tourism chiefs are delighted at the centre's success.  Annual visitor numbers at the former tourist information centre were 240,000, meaning an additional 160,000 customers have used the service over the last year.

As well as visits from London, the Midlands, the North East and Scotland, visitors have come from the United States, Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Russia, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Japan, China and even far flung Costa Rica.

Gillian Cruddas, Chief Executive of Visit York said, ‘Our aim is to make this centre a flagship for Yorkshire and the very best information service in the country, using the very latest technology - a centre of excellence.  We set ourselves an ambitious target to increase visits to the centre by 40%; we've actually increased visitor numbers by 60%, so we're delighted.'

Sandra Bahndorf, Visitor Centre Manager, said, ‘By providing better information on what there is to see and do in York and the wider region, we are encouraging our visitors to stay longer and spend more, boosting our regional economy.  Our expert staff pride themselves in offering the best visitor service in the country and we're delighted this has really paid off.' 

Visit York staff offer a range of services including, ticket sales for attractions, tours and concerts, accommodation bookings and personal itinerary planning.  Staff are trained in basic sign language for the deaf and they speak eight languages between them including; German, Spanish, French, Slovak, Czech, Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi.  The project was supported by the City of York Council, York Conservation Trust, Business Link and Welcome to Yorkshire.  ENDS