Tourism ‘still strong’ despite blow to outdoor attractions

Indoor attractions across Yorkshire have reported a surge in numbers while outdoor tourist activities suffered during the summer’s relentless rain.

Official figures show the rain appears to have driven visitors to take shelter at museums such as Eureka in Halifax, where attendance was up 53 per cent year-on-year in June according to Welcome to Yorkshire.

The tourism body said visitor numbers were also up 15 per cent at York Minster in the same month, and Keighley and Worth Valley Railway has had eight per cent more passengers than last summer.

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The Yorkshire Post reported yesterday how outdoor tourist attractions had struggled to attract 
visitors over the washout summer.

They included the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster, which reported attendance was down 22 per cent in June and Ilkley lido, which was visited by 10 per cent less swimmers from May to August than last summer.

Welcome to Yorkshire said it had still seen impressive 
numbers elsewhere across the region.

Chief executive Gary Verity said: “One of Yorkshire tourism’s great strengths is its variety and depth of offer for visitors.

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“So while it hasn’t been the hottest of summers, it’s still 
shaping up to be a strong year overall.

“Visitors to Yorkshire come 
for much more than the sun 
and return year after year because we have some of the best attractions, accommodation food and scenery in the UK.”