WITH the summer tourist season in full swing and the streets of York buzzing with visitors, it’s easy to see how important the tourism industry is to the city and region as a whole.

But while we attract a good share of the domestic English tourist market, we have some ground to make up in attracting visitors from overseas. According to International Passenger Survey 2010 figures, we have ten per cent of the English domestic market, which compares well with other parts of the country.

Our “inbound tourism” figures, however, show there is enormous opportunity for Yorkshire, and York in particular, to grow as a global tourist destination. In 2010, four per cent of all trips to England by overseas tourists were destined for Yorkshire, compared with seven per cent for the North West and 49 per cent for London.

This is an important economic issue for York and the region. We are already reliant on the tourism industry for the number of hospitality, transport, retail, services and attraction jobs it supports. For example, York has the county’s most visited free attraction in the National Railway Museum and two of the county’s top five most popular paid-for attractions in York Minster and the Jorvik Viking Centre.

The fact that we service tourists extremely well and have a great offer provides superb foundations to grow our share of inbound tourism.

But why does this matter when the “staycation” trend means we already do well through domestic tourism?

There is plenty of talk about the need for the UK as a whole to grow its export market as the relatively weak pound makes our goods and services very good value. Inbound tourism is just like an export market, attracting overseas citizens to spend their money with us – the only difference is that they come here to spend it. And because we know the bulk of inbound traffic goes to London, the South East and the South West, the scope for growth is clear to see.

International tourism is regarded as the biggest prize in tourism marketing and we must grab our share to make sure the sector continues to be a strong part of our economic mix.

That’s why we will be focusing on inbound tourism in our annual Tourism Futures conference in November.

Organised in association with Visit York, the event will feature a line-up of tourism business experts who will debate how York and Yorkshire as a whole can seize the international tourism opportunity.

Full details about Inbound International Tourism: Yorkshire as a Destination will be available in the coming months.

• Anyone wishing to register their early interest in attending can call York St John Business School on (01904) 876915 or email business.school@yorksj.ac.uk