Prime Minister Tony Blair today hit the York tourist trail to tell the world that Britain is open for business.

Mr Blair, accompanied by his wife Cherie, was being met by about 100 York schoolchildren at Jorvik, the city's new-look Viking Centre, re-opening tomorrow after a £5 million refurbishment.

He was using the visit to stress to the world that Britain is open and safe for tourists.

City MP Hugh Bayley was accompanying the Blairs.

He said: "Pictures of the Prime Minister's visit will go round the world telling people that York survived the floods, and Britain is open for tourists despite foot and mouth.

"It will give a great boost to Britain's hard-pressed tourism industry and it is a great coup for York."

Downing Street is known to have pressed American media networks for coverage, and is thought to have generated huge interest in the visit.

Publicity across the Atlantic will be a major boost for York and North Yorkshire, which welcomes thousands of American visitors every year.

But confusion about the foot and mouth crisis has hit the market hard.

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of the York Tourism Bureau, said: "A paper in New York last week carried the headline A Green and Contagious Lane.

"There is confusion in this country, and it is easy to see how exaggerated that can get when it's carried thousands of miles across the sea.

"Mr Blair's visit is fantastic for us. We know the visit has generated great media interest and it will send a clear message worldwide that York and Britain are open."

The Prime Minister also took time to speak directly to the people of York on a local radio phone-in.

Mr Blair will follow his York visit by travelling to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food base in Leeds, before visiting farmers in Haworth, near Keighley.

He was due to announce that Yorkshire businesses ravaged by the foot and mouth crisis can apply for emergency loans of up to £250,000.

An NFU spokesman said: "There is a need to get people back into the countryside and we welcome Mr Blair's message."

And Ryedale MP John Greenway gave the Prime Minister's visit a grudging welcome.

"Anything that draws attention to the fact that hundreds of attractions are open for business is welcome," he said.

The Prime Minister's wife remained in York after her husband left for West Yorkshire.

She was being accompanied by Mr Bayley who was due to show her a preview of the Yorkshire Museum's latest exhibition.

He said the theme of Alcuin and Charlemagne was fitting because Mr Blair has been awarded the Charlemagne Prize, which is a German version of a Nobel Prize, and he has been referred to as the Alcuin of the modern age by French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, meaning he was a great European.

Meanwhile, workers who have lost jobs due to the foot and mouth crisis are being offered the chance of work with York businesses.

John Gallery, of York Tourism Training, said: "There are currently about 160 vacancies in hotel and tourism attractions and these jobs are available to anyone who might be in search of an alternative, even if just for a temporary period."

Details are available from job centres.

A limited number of public footpaths across North Yorkshire - and parts of Dalby Forest - are re-opening to walkers and visitors in time for the Easter holidays.

Updated: 10:12 Friday, April 06, 2001