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The Financial Times today claims that the steep fall of sterling may have a silver lining for the region’s tourism providers.

Nationally tourism is being regarded as one of the UK’s economies which could actually benefit from the low drop in sterling and the strength of the Euro. This is expected to have a very positive impact on both international and domestic visitor numbers.

 

Gary Verity, Chief Executive at Welcome to Yorkshire, says:

 

“Yorkshire is the UK’s largest and most diverse county in terms of its tourism offering. This is key to the future of the region’s economy as it is now recognised that the tourism industry, which in Yorkshire accounts for about 250,000 jobs and brings in approximately £6.5b, is one of our major industries.”

 

Peter Massey, the Arts Council England’s partnerships officer for Yorkshire and the Humber, is also quoted within the FT feature. Mr Massey draws on the county’s cultural offer commenting that Yorkshire benefits from an increasing number of high profile cultural assets that also serve a wider community outside the region. The FT goes on to give as an example the region’s festivals, which number more than 300 annually and attract approximately 3.5m visitors and contribute in excess of £100m to the local economy.

 

The FT article also highlights Welcome to Yorkshire’s international campaigns to attract visitors from around the world to Yorkshire which most recently include Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain.

 

Mr Verity adds:

 

“This is just the type of positive publicity we are striving for. Yorkshire is a great county and should be recognised on both a national and international level.”