Bring more Londoners to Yorkshire to boost economy, new tourism body says

A 10-year strategy led by the North Yorkshire Council-run body ‘ Visit North Yorkshire’ has identified “London and South East based high earners with children at home, usually aged between 30-50,” as a key target to bring to the region for holidays.

Identifying the group as looking for ‘aspirational family fun’, the report reads: “This market may have overlooked North Yorkshire if predominantly looking for a city break. This is an important market to convert due to their propensity to spend on activities that keep the children entertained.

“As they are mainly based in London and the South East, they are more likely to stay overnight”

Visit North Yorkshire is also hoping to change perceptions of the region as “old fashioned” to bring in more child-free couples wanting to enjoy adventurous activities.

Tourism leaders are hoping to boost the region’s economy by a fifth, and increase the number of people staying overnight in North Yorkshire to 23 per cent of visitors.

More than £4 billion is already brought into North Yorkshire’s economy each year through tourism and the industry supports 38,500 jobs.

Tourism plans also include boosting numbers who visit North Yorkshire’s famous TV and film locations, including Herriot Country and Grassington, used for Channel 5’s All Creatures Great and Small, and Goathland, which was the setting for Hogsmeade train station in the Harry Potter films.

The chairman of the Herriot Country Tourism Group, John Gallery, said: “The destination management plan is due to mark a very important step to providing a clearly defined approach to promoting the tourism sector across the whole of North Yorkshire.

“The popularity of James Herriot has increased in recent years, and this will help us promote our museum in Thirsk which will benefit not just the town but the surrounding area as well.”

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for open to business, Coun Mark Crane, said: “The visitor economy is a major driver of North Yorkshire’s local economy.

“A vibrant visitor economy not only supports businesses directly within the tourism industry, but also supports in attracting investment and making the county a truly great place to live.

“This 10-year destination management plan comes at a critical time for North Yorkshire, and one of the most exciting in its recent history.

“There will be a new approach to supporting the growth of the visitor economy – one which recognises the area’s scale and character and reflects the diversity and distinctiveness of our county.”

The new body was formed in the wake of the closure of scandal-hit Welcome to Yorkshire, which went into administration in 2022 following the departure of two of its bosses in the space of three years. Bullying claims and financial mismanagement plagued its final years.

It was a catastrophic ending for the body, which in 2014 brought the first stage of the Tour de France to Yorkshire.

Since its closure, there has been no overarching tourism body for Yorkshire.