Boom in bookings for caravan and camping sites in North Yorkshire

This amounts to 8,800 bookings, up from 6,300 at this point last year.

With the summer season underway, the figure is set to climb further, potentially giving the farm-based campsites across the county a record year.

Oliver and Cat Barker, winners of the Best Campsite in the North of England title for the glamping site they launched on their Bolton Abbey farm for the Tour de France in 2014, said demand for their geo-domes had proved strong after introducing them last year.

Cat added: “I don’t think either of us knew how popular this would become at the start.

"We knew all along that it was a brilliant idea, that the area is always hugely in demand for holidays, but you never know for sure until you open and get going.”

Dan Yates, founder of Pitchup.com, said the figures suggest North Yorkshire could, over time, become a tourism hotspot that might even start to rival places such as the Peak District and the Lake District.

He said: “The fact that the number of people visiting North Yorkshire is growing at such a rate suggests the county is now firmly on the tourism map.

“But that’s no great surprise as whatever type of holiday you want, you can find it there. North Yorkshire has an amazing coastline, wild moorland, picture postcard villages and farms, small towns, and of course, York, one of England’s most visited cities.

“Whatever you want, whatever experience you are after, you’ll be able to find it in North Yorkshire.”

Dan added that the popularity of farm-based holidays was in part responsible for the number of tourists continuing to flock to North Yorkshire.

Farm-based caravan and campsites have seen an explosion in popularity since the Covid pandemic and are continuing to attract holidaymakers wanting simple, back-to-nature, and highly cost-effective breaks.

Dan said: “Although tourism is growing as an economic driver in North Yorkshire, the region is still very rural and connected to the agricultural industry.

“Each year, hundreds of thousands of people want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and from phones, tablets, and laptops, and relax in an authentic, rural setting.

“You can’t beat farms for this. Feedback from Pitchup.com users shows that these are often some of the best environments to unwind.

“Often, they’re set in the country’s most beautiful locations, and surrounded by the natural world and farm animals, so people are genuinely transported to another world for a few days, a week, or however long they stay.”