TOURISM bosses in York are celebrating a record breaking first year for the city’s new flagship tourist information centre.
One year ago today, Visit York’s state-of-the-art information centre opened its doors at 1 Museum Street, replacing the old tourist information centre at the De Grey Rooms.
Since then, almost 400,000 people from the UK and across the globe have used the centre – a 60 per cent increase – and tourism chiefs are delighted at the centre’s success. Annual visitor numbers at the former tourist information centre were 240,000, meaning an additional 160,000 customers have used the service over the last year.
As well as people from the UK, visitors have come from the United States, Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Russia, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Japan, China and Costa Rica.
Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of Visit York, said: “Our aim is to make this centre a flagship for Yorkshire and the very best information service in the country, using the very latest technology – a centre of excellence.
“We set ourselves an ambitious target to increase visits to the centre by 40 per cent; we’ve actually increased visitor numbers by 60 per cent, so we’re delighted.”
Sandra Bahndorf, visitor centre manager, said: “By providing better information on what there is to see and do in York and the wider region, we are encouraging our visitors to stay longer and spend more, boosting our regional economy.”
Flying the flag
WHEN the new Visit York information centre opened last year it was hailed as a flagship for Yorkshire. But who would have guessed just how successfully?
Well, tourism chiefs have today reported a 60 per cent rise in visitor numbers since the Museum Street centre opened and they have come from far and wide, including Russia and Costa Rica.
We’re lucky to live in one of the world’s most sought-after tourist destinations. That means visitors play a crucial part in our economy.
So we should all welcome this increased level of interest in York.
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