Surge in number of Chinese visitors

Senior officials from Visit York have revealed that the city’s main information centre has dealt with an increasing amount of tourists from the Far East since it was relocated two years ago.

The city has been leading a concerted marketing drive to attract more visitors from the Far East, and York University already has close links with education institutions in China.

Visit York has now enlisted its first Mandarin-speaking volunteer, Susan Lee, to help offer a personal service to Chinese visitors.

She said: “I decided to volunteer to use my language and teaching skills. Visitors from China and Hong Kong are always surprised when they arrive in the visitor centre and I can speak fluently with them.

“They always ask me more questions and show me their Chinese travel guides. Being able to chat in Mandarin helps them feel at home.”

The information centre moved from the De Grey Rooms in Exhibition Square to its new location in Museum Street and was officially opened in May 2010.

In its first two years of operation, 900,000 visitors used the centre, and tourism staff also noticed an increase in visitors from other nations including Spain, Italy and France as well as Eastern Europe.

The Yorkshire Post revealed in March that York’s world-famous heritage was being showcased at a major international conference in China as the city looked to bolster its burgeoning links with the Far East. York Council’s chief executive, Kersten England, and York University’s Pro-Vice Chancellor, Dr Jane Grenville, were among a six-strong delegation of key-note speakers from the UK who travelled to the event in Zhouzhuang in April.

York has the second highest concentration of Chinese students in the region.