York annual tourism data revealed

06/04/2010

Tourism contributes £442.6 million to York's economy and the number of people visiting the city a year stands at 7.1 million, according to latest figures.
The study, conducted by Tribal Consulting for Welcome to Yorkshire, found that six million of those visiting York were leisure visitors and their expenditure accounts for 54% of the total visitor spend. Ninety-nine per cent of leisure visitors said they would recommend York to a friend.
According to the 12-month study into the value of tourism for the economy in York and Yorkshire, the city has the highest number of overseas visitors compared with any other destination within the county.
Gillian Crudas, chief executive of Visit York, described the study as "the most robust and comprehensive".
He added: "By taking into account not just leisure visits but also the value of business tourism, visits to events and visits to friends and relatives, the true value of tourism to the York economy has been revealed like never before - it's fantastic news - and demonstrates the importance of tourism for the York economy."
Both Visit York and Welcome to Yorkshire praised the tourism figures for York as the best results ever.
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