Yorkshire Lights the Way for British Tourism Week

LEEDS, ENGLAND, March 12, 2011

Yorkshire's skies were set alight for British Tourism Week after a giant Y was blasted onto an iconic coastal lighthouse.

Welcome to Yorkshire lit up Scarborough lighthouse after celebrating a hugely successful start to tourism in the county in 2011.

The official tourism agency for Yorkshire has pledged to build on its successes after being held up as a beacon of excellence for other parts of the country in the newly released Government Tourism Strategy.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: "The news from our members across the tourism industry is that the start of the year has been a positive one. Half term results from attractions were particularly encouraging and I'm pleased to say 27% of responding accommodation providers said they had seen an increase in weekend bookings recently."

Welcome to Yorkshire's business monitor reveals an overall feel good factor from respondents.

Compared to January 2010, this year's figures show that self-catering occupancy levels have increased by 10%; serviced accommodation have increased by 6% and attractions in Yorkshire saw an overall 10% increase in total visitor figures.

The February half term this year gave a notable boost with 47% of responding attractions having more visitors than February half term 2010.

Those businesses running special offers and events for half term recorded some of the most positive results.

The National Railway Museum (NRM) reported its best half term for a decade with daily visitor numbers often exceeding more than 8,000 a day.

Scarborough Museums Trust also reported an increase in visitors while RSPB Old Moor Nature Reserve in Barnsley said its half term events had also been very successful.

Welcome to Yorkshire is the official tourism agency for Yorkshire, working to grow the region's visitor economy and providing information on hotels, days out and outdoor activities.