How does York compare as a tourist destination today to the city of ten years ago. With the results of the latest Visitor Survey now out, CHARLOTTE PERCIVAL investigates.

WHAT difference does a decade make in the life of a city?

Ten years ago in York there was no Millennium Bridge, no budget hotels, no trendy coffee chains and no Festival Of Food And Drink.

Then again, the Minster was free, the Barbican Centre was open and parking was certainly cheaper.

There are always plusses and minuses. But there is no doubt that snazzy eateries, trendy bars and up-and-coming retailers have brought a touch of the continental to our traditional, historic streets.

Tourists can now sip caf latte while they hunt ghosts over the cobbles.

They can spend their hard-earned cash at Monks Cross or the Designer Outlet in Fulford, explore the extension to the National Railway Museum (NRM) and still fit in time for Clifford's Tower and the city walls.

In many ways, we do have more to offer visitors than ever before.

Kay Hyde, PR manager for York Tourism Bureau, believes the transformation over the last decade has been phenomenal.

"It really is amazing when you look back how much the city has changed and how many new facilities there are," she says.

"The success of tourism has allowed the city to progress and develop for everyone. It's very much down to the success of tourism that these new caf bars, restaurants and shops and retailers are coming into the city. It's great news for everyone, bringing more jobs and investment."

Over the last decade, millions have been spent upgrading York Racecourse, Jorvik Viking Centre and the NRM, and bringing Flying Scotsman back to the city.

York has rebranded itself as a city of festivals, hosted Royal Ascot and clawed back visitors following the floods, foot and mouth outbreaks and the aftermath of terrorism in London.

Of course, there have also been low points.

Friargate Waxworks Museum closed in 1996, the Arts Centre followed in 1999 and admission charges were introduced to the Minster in 2003 all real blows to the cultural and spiritual life of the city.

Then there have been the mixed blessings.

The internet gave people the chance to discover our city online.

A wealth of information was at their fingertips to help them book directly with guest houses and discover what York had to offer. It also gave them reason to choose other cities, however.

"People are wanting more and more to discover new destinations and their choices are becoming more sophisticated," says Kay.

"Maybe they want to do a gourmet break or activity holiday. The way people pick and choose their holidays is really changing. York has to work even harder to stay ahead."

Low-cost airlines and budget hotels have made it easier to travel to York. But they have also made it easier to get away.

"I think the strength of the pound and cost of a holiday in the UK is also a factor for Europeans," says Kay. "We need to promote value for money as opposed to how much things cost."

Incentives such as the discount card York Pass have opened visitors' eyes to many attractions they may otherwise not have seen.

The Tourist Information Centre also promotes activities that can be enjoyed on a budget.

"The very fabric of the city is beautiful so we're ahead of the game in terms of reasons to visit," says Kay.

"You can walk around the city walls or on a walking tour with a voluntary guide, and we've developed a whole range of city walking trails to try, with themes such as medieval churches."

Tourism chiefs are constantly working on new ways to boost visitor numbers.

Recently, the Renaissance Project has seen buildings such as York Art Gallery and Micklegate Bar sympathetically lit to help people feel safer at night.

"There were some people who were averse to lighting up historic buildings but the feedback, generally, has been positive," Kay explains.

"People may not have actually noticed they have been lit up, but I also think some people have paid more attention to the buildings at night because of it.

"It seems to have gone a long way to helping people feel safer on the streets in the evenings as well."

Kay admits there is still work to be done. She would like to see a five-star hotel in the city and a chocolate tour. But the future, she thinks, is bright.

"I want to see the historic fabric of the city and its cultural heritage preserved, and at the same time for the city to develop into a continental-style, vibrant city. I think we're already on the way towards that.

"It would be nice to see more activity in the evening in the twilight zone for example, between 6pm and 8pm, when the city centre sometimes becomes quiet.

"At the end of the day, what we really want to see is York being the number one UK city break; the first choice for people when they're considering a break in the UK."

Key findings of Visitor Survey 2006

TASTY grub and good beer are among reasons why tourists choose York, a new survey has revealed.

The Visitor Survey 2006, commissioned by the First Stop York partnership and York Tourism Bureau, will be used to shape future marketing and understand tourism trends.

Other key finds included:

Ghost walks are the second most popular evening activity, with eating out taking first place
The average number of visitors each year remains around four million with an increase in the number of elderly visitors
28 per cent of visitors arrive by train, while 60 per cent choose their cars
Fewer people visit from aboard and the affluent south-east of England
There has been a 2.9 per cent fall in bed occupancy
York hosts almost as many tourists over 65 as under 34.

Key dates over last ten years in York

1996: First Residents First weekend took place, York Racecourse Tattersall Grandstand officially opened, Bar Convent Museum reopened, Marks & Spencer Parliament Street store refurbished, Friargate Wax Museum closed. York Tourism Training established and three-year European funding secured to boost marketing and product development activities.
1997: The first Festival Of Food And Drink, out-of-town budget hotels Holiday Inn Express and Travel Inn arrive and first pre-Christmas shopping campaign was born.
1998: First Stop York website and first dedicated tourism PR resource launched. Slug And Lettuce, The Quarter, Monks Cross and the Designer Outlet opened and first trails guides produced.
1999: The Works, an extension of National Railway Museum (NRM), opened. Borders Books and other Davygate stores opened, pavement cafs and coffee chains such as Starbucks and Costa Coffee appear. Brown signs erected on the A1. York Arts Centre closed.
2000: Floods reached their highest levels on November 3 and businesses were set back for six months. The National Centre For Early Music, City Screen and Royal York Conference Centre opened. Queens Hotel, first city centre budget hotels opened.
2001: Foot and mouth affected overseas visitor numbers. Millennium Bridge and Designer Outlet Park&Ride opened. Quality Hotel and Premier Lodge opened and the Jorvik Viking Centre reopened after a £5 million redevelopment.
2002: Ramada Encore opened, Wetherspoons opened in Piccadilly. Thousands enjoyed the first Christmas lights switch on show outside the Minster. York Museums Trust launched and admission charges dropped at the NRM.
2003: Yorkshire Forward funding secured for major investments in lighting and interpretation of the city and York Minster launched admission charges.
2004: Railfest and Flying Scotsman arrived in York and a £600,000 new footbridge was built from York Station to NRM. First Chinese and Roman festivals took place. New stores opened in Stonegate Walk and the County Stand at York Racecourse opened.
2005: Royal Ascot held. City was rebranded as City Of Festivals and the Guy Fawkes 400 celebrations took place. York Art Gallery reopened after a £500,000 refurbishment. Impressions Gallery closed and the station Visitor Information Centre refurbished. The Living Room bar opened and new shops opened in Spurriergate. The DisabledGo was launched.
2006: ARC relaunched as DIG and the Yorkshire Wheel arrived. The Constantine Exhibition at the Yorkshire Museum opened to celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the proclamation of Constantine as Roman emperor. Cold War Bunker opened.