York’s Flourishing Tourism Industry Drives Economic Growth In 2024

Thursday, July 17, 2025

York’s tourism assemblage continued to flourish, pinch 2024 bringing different twelvemonth of beardown maturation and surpassing nan £2 cardinal conception successful its effect connected nan section economy, reveals nan latest STEAM study for nan city, issued by Make It York. This is simply a 5.4% maturation compared to past twelvemonth and is an denotation of nan city’s tourism spot and its expertise to get done post-pandemic challenges.

The Economic Impact of York’s Tourism

The STEAM report, which measures nan economical effect of tourism successful nan city, shows that nan tourism manufacture continues to beryllium a important contributor to York’s economy. In 2024, York’s tourism system saw a maturation complaint of 5.4%, reaching an estimated £2.03 billion. This marks a notable summation compared to 2023, contempt inflationary pressures that person affected real-term values. When adjusting for inflation, nan existent economical effect was somewhat down by 6.9% erstwhile compared to 2019, which had been nan past pre-pandemic year.

The economical worth of tourism successful York is supported by respective cardinal sectors, pinch unit taking nan largest stock of nan spending astatine 34%. Food and portion besides saw important investment, accounting for 27% of nan full expenditure. The study highlighted that nan remaining 11% was spent connected recreational activities and entertainment, while 3% was directed towards transport-related services.

Notably, overseas visitors played a captious domiciled successful driving York’s tourism economy, contributing astir a 4th of nan full impact. These world visitors injected £0.5 cardinal into York’s section economy, demonstrating nan city’s beardown world entreaty and continued world interest.

Record Number of Staying Visitors

The number of visitors choosing to enactment overnight successful York has reached 1.7 million, a flimsy summation from nan erstwhile year. This maturation is reflective of nan city’s thriving tourism manufacture and its continued allure arsenic a premier destination for some home and world visitors. The mean magnitude of enactment for visitors besides saw an uptick, now averaging 3.3 nights, further reinforcing nan city’s entreaty for longer visits.

In position of accommodation, serviced hotels and different types of serviced accommodation continued to beryllium nan preferred prime for astir visitors, pinch 54% opting for these facilities. Non-serviced accommodation besides remained popular, though somewhat down successful position of visitant numbers.

Rising Day Visitor Economic Impact

While staying visitors proceed to person nan largest effect connected nan section economy, time visitors besides contributed importantly successful 2024. The economical effect from time visitors accrued by 10.6% compared to 2023, reaching £0.89 billion. However, this was still down by 15.1% erstwhile compared to 2019, a motion that while nan metropolis is recovering, location are still immoderate challenges successful reaching pre-pandemic levels.

Despite this, nan emergence successful time visitant numbers by 6% complete nan past twelvemonth is an encouraging trend. It suggests that York’s entreaty extends beyond those staying overnight, pinch galore time visitors exploring nan city’s rich | history, heritage, and attractions.

A Boost successful Employment and nan Resilience of nan Sector

In summation to its economical benefits, York’s tourism assemblage besides provided nonstop and indirect employment to 16,788 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) workers, a 4.8% summation from 2023. While this is an encouraging rise, it is still 8.8% little than nan employment numbers recorded successful 2019, earlier nan pandemic.

The maturation successful employment further highlights nan captious domiciled tourism plays successful nan section system and nan city’s resilience successful recovering from nan effects of COVID-19. The tourism assemblage not only provides a important root of income but besides creates galore opportunities for section workers and businesses.

International Visitors Continue to Drive Growth

One of nan astir notable aspects of York’s tourism manufacture is its ongoing expertise to pull world visitors. In 2024, world visitors made up 14% of nan city’s full visitors, a beardown capacity that showcases York’s world estimation arsenic a taste and historical hub.

Among these overseas visitors, 43% chose to enactment overnight, reinforcing York’s position arsenic a cardinal guidelines for those exploring broader regions of nan UK. This inclination is peculiarly important arsenic it demonstrates that nan city’s tourism assemblage is not only attracting short-term visits but besides encouraging longer stays, which are much beneficial to nan section economy.

York’s Position arsenic a Leading Destination

According to Make It York, nan latest maturation figures reaffirm York’s position arsenic 1 of nan UK’s starring destinations for some home and world visitors. The city’s singular betterment from nan challenges posed by nan pandemic highlights its enduring entreaty and nan efforts made by section businesses and tourism stakeholders to create exceptional experiences for each visitors.

The organisation credits its ongoing occurrence to nan support of section businesses and partners, acknowledging nan important domiciled they person played successful fostering York’s estimation arsenic a world-class destination. The collaborative efforts of nan city’s hospitality, retail, and tourism sectors are said to person been instrumental successful driving this success.

A Look Ahead: Continued Growth successful York’s Tourism Sector

Going forward, Make It York continues to beryllium affirmative astir nan early of nan destination for tourism successful nan city. The attraction will move to maintaining this growth, improving nan visitant experience, and keeping York competitory successful a quickly changing world tourer market. The metropolis of York—with The Ghost Bus Tours ain regular York Ghost Bus included—now has 1 successful 7 visitors reporting they came from extracurricular nan UK, nan number of visitors increasing, and nan section system astatine an all-time resilient high; York’s bubble looks group to stay patient for galore years to come.

The findings of nan 2024 STEAM study are testament to nan difficult activity of section businesses but besides nan corporate determination of nan metropolis to beryllium a best-in-class destination, according to Make It York Managing Director Sarah Loftus. Official findings of nan 2018 Tourism Impact Study (STEAM) show tourism is now worthy a staggering £765.47m to York, up from £764m nan erstwhile year. In summary, these are very beardown results that propose York is good placed for sustainable maturation successful tourism and to build from its beardown instauration arsenic a starring metropolis for taste tourism, heritage, and leisure.

References: Make It York, UK Government, York City Council