People need to make more use of tourism attractions here in Yorkshire - Yorkshire Post Letters

Re: UK ‘has lost habit of trips to tourism sites’, TYP, March 18, page 3.

It's disappointing to read that fewer are going out to tourism attractions after the pandemic. Sorry to read that the loss of Chinese visitors has hit tourism numbers but surely there is scope to increase the British visitors to our tourist attractions? There is so much to explore in Yorkshire, let alone the rest of Britain.

I've noticed that surprisingly few British people really know their own country. When I watched University Challenge it was shocking to see the ignorance of UK geography displayed by the students and Oxbridge colleges were often the worst offenders.

Living in London for many years I was always surprised by the number of Londoners who'd never visited York. Many were under the impression that Yorkshire was about four hours away by train, when it is actually under two hours on most trains to York. They are missing out, though, of course quite a few Yorkshire people haven't visited London.

I've no objection to people going abroad for holidays, but they'd do better to see something of Britain first before rushing off to other countries. As a starter let's make personal acquaintance with the UK a condition for selecting would-be MPs.