Visit York’s annual tourism conference, VYCON 2020 will be taking place on Thursday 16th January at York Racecourse where 300 delegates from across the tourism sector in York, Yorkshire and beyond, are expected to attend.  The focus for this year’s conference will be on the ‘next chapter of tourism’ in York – looking ahead to the ambitions for tourism in the city as we enter a new decade and how businesses can take advantage of developments happening on a national level. The latest tourism statistics for York will also be revealed and speakers will be presenting on a diverse range of topics relating to the tourism sector.  

The biggest outdoor Ice Trail in the UK will be returning for two days on 1st & 2nd Feb 2020 with forty magnificent ice sculptures transforming York’s city centre. This year’s theme will be ‘fantastical fiction and fairy tales’ with sculptures ranging from spectacular unicorns and magic mirrors to famous magical characters from books, films and cartoons.

York Residents Festival will be returning in January 2020 with over 100 attractions, events and offers for residents – marking the 25^th anniversary of the festival and the biggest programme of activity to date.  The event is organised as a way of saying thank you to residents for the warm welcome they give to York’s 6.9 million visitors each year, with  attractions opening up their doors free of charge for the weekend. 

To mark the 75^th anniversary of the publication of Evelyn Waugh’s novel, Brideshead Revisited, The Brideshead Festival will celebrate and interrogate the ongoing appeal of this seminal novel and its screen adaptations.

An award-winning agency in York has been bought by a husband and wife team who had previously worked for the business.

2 December 2019 - 1 December 2020

Part podcast, part poem, part accidental car park, Conflux is a brand new free audio experience launching at the end of the month.
Starting by the river Foss on Piccadilly, listeners follow the in-audio instructions, to explore one of the city’s most fascinating and iconic sites. 

Entries are now open for the prestigious Visit York Tourism Awards, which recognise, congratulate and celebrate businesses and individuals that deliver amazing experiences for visitors. Returning on Thursday 23 April 2020, the event which is sponsored by LNER, shines a spotlight on excellence and innovation in the tourism industry and offers eligible winners across a number of categories the chance to be automatically put forward to the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2020.

Dog lovers throughout North Yorkshire are expected to descend on Castle Howard this weekend (Saturday 30 November and Sunday 1 December), when the garden centre hosts a special event welcoming canine visitors to meet Santa Paws for the perfect festive photo!

A record £5000 has been raised for charity as a result of the Great York Ghost Search event which took place throughout the city over the Halloween period.