Festive boost for York as spending by Asian visitors doubles in year

Yorkshire's walled city has long proved a huge draw to international visitors.

Now, even in the midst of talk over a recession, new figures suggest York may yet defy expectations.

Footfall has seen a "significant" uplift, as has hotel occupancy, while analysis from business leaders suggests card spend from China may have doubled in just one year.

Any early figures such as these must always be interpreted with a "pinch of salt", said Chris Bush, business manager for the York Business Improvement District (BID).

But what they do give, he added, is a vote of "confidence" in the city's retail direction.

"If you look at the year as a whole, footfall and spend is not dissimilar to last year and we are still down on pre-Covid levels," he said.

"However, we are now seeing quite a steep increase. Whether that balances out overall we shall have to wait and see.

"The most notable find is a significant increase in Asian spend, particularly with visitors from China which is a market we had lost to Covid restrictions."

The York BID's latest analysis examines footfall, occupancy and spend levels for the third quarter of 2023, with its full festive data to be released in mid January.

In what has been a challenging year, with the cost-of-living crisis coupled with rising inflation, rail strikes and bad weather, it found York attracted a "healthy" number of visitors.

Analysis year on year shows a slight increase for the third quarter, but 'narrowing in' on the figures shows November drew close to pre-pandemic levels for the first time.

And looking even closer, to the first few weeks of the city's Christmas markets, the figures show a "substantial overshoot" as to where it was four years ago.

"I can only speak personally, but I think York has always been regarded internationally as a destination to visit," said Mr Bush. "At Christmas, when York really shines, we've got a strong Christmas offering with the lights and the markets."

The figures suggested card spend made by visitors from China, Hong Kong and Japan increased by 109 per cent in the third quarter, when compared to last year.

This was particularly acute when it came to mainland China, with a 162 per cent increase.

Even discounting for changes to Visa markets, or footfall data captured through cameras, what this indicates is a "significant uplift". Even looking out the window he said, it's "busier".

"What we have, in terms of attractions, retail offering and hospitality, is an experience that people take away with them," he added. "York, for as long as I've known, has always had that draw. Hopefully it's reason for people to come, and a reason for them to come back."

Tourism is one of Britain’s most successful industries, and its third largest service export.

According to VisitBritain, China is continuing to build back visitor numbers to the UK. Americans are set to lead when it comes the coming year though, according to forecasts, with almost £1 in every £5 of all inbound spending coming from the United States.

Overall, VisitBritain is predicting that inbound tourism to the UK, both the number of visits and spending by international visitors, will recover to 2019 levels by early 2025.