Rose SivochaWith an estimated 7.1 million people visiting York annually it is a ranking city for the top places visited by foreign and domestic tourists. However, the consulting authority on York tourism Kate McMullen who is Head of Marketing at Visit York is supporting a new scheme which will see the number of people visiting increase dramatically, ‘our new campaign aimed at travel agents and tour operators both in the UK and overseas will boost sales and bring new visitors to York. Visitors both in the UK and overseas are looking for value for money and our strong links with inbound tour operators will enable us to sell York in Europe and the United States by using the York Pass as a key incentive to visit.’
On April 19 a workshop at the Grand Cedar Court Hotel is being held to pitch to International Tour Operators to include the York Pass as part of their holiday packages with North America and Western Europe amongst the key markets. There will also be a huge drive to promote Visit York’s leisure campaign with large scale outdoor advertising from London to Edinburgh on the East Coast rail network. This scheme has been launched with a view to become increasingly competitive against other popular destinations across the UK to inject more money into the historic city. Tourism brings with it £443 million into the York economy creating 23,000 jobs, it is a vital industry that contributes a lot to the city, and a sustained increase in the tourist population will reap many benefits. Of the 30 attractions included in the York Pass there is the Castle Museum, JORVIK Viking Centre, National Railway Museum, York Minster, The York Dungeon, Castle Howard and all the popular focal points of tourists visits. It is likely the York Pass will indeed encourage more people to these venues, and with the increase in numbers brings the increase of annual revenue boosting the local economy.
This, the Olympic year, is the time to enact these proposals; over 30.7 million people are expected to converge on the UK. A golden opportunity is presented for tourist boards such as Visit York, so set a bench mark by offering the best experience possible to those travelling to York over the next few months in particular so they can establish an, if not loyal, then at least satisfied reputation amongst holiday makers from home and abroad. At present it appears as those these goals will come into fruition ‘We’re now on track to increase business further and we will also be promoting the York Pass more heavily domestically, which will give York a strong competitive edge over other UK destinations.’
