Tourism’s decline

But it is far more worrying that, according to its own figures, visitors to the North York Moors National Park have been steadily declining since 2007. Indeed, considering the recent dramatic decline in tourists visiting the Yorkshire Dales National Park, it is clear that there is a major cause for concern.

There are, no doubt, many reasons for these declines. However, the date the decline in the popularity of the North York Moors began is a clear indicator that the economic downturn is a major factor.

Even though overall figures suggested that tourism in Yorkshire was booming prior to 2012, there is 
clearly no room for complacency. Looking ahead, the county will get a great boost from staging the Tour de France’s Grand Depart. But that is in 2014 and, by then, if present trends continue, there are many tourism businesses that will simply not be around to cash in on it.