A compact city in the UK is now rivalling some of the nation’s top economic powerhouses thanks to big-spending overseas travellers who have poured into its economy.
Tourism in York is on the rise, and city leaders are now aiming to bring in even more international visitors to contribute to economic growth.
New figures shared by Make It York, the city’s destination management organisation, show visitors spent a whopping £2.01 billion in 2024 – a 5.4 per cent increase compared to the year before.
About 25 per cent of this spending came from international visitors, most notably from the US, China and Northern Europe.
In a poll of 1,006 visitors to York in 2024 to 2025, 66 respondents – the highest number of those from outside of the UK – said they had travelled from the US.
The second-highest amount of international visitors, with 17 respondents, were Canadian, followed by Australians, totalling 14.
Eight visitors each travelled from Germany, Spain and Norway, while six flew in from New Zealand, and five each arriving from Ireland, France and India.
Four respondents each hailed from the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium and the UAE, while three visitors each came from Sweden, Italy, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
Tourism in York is on the rise, and city leaders are now aiming to bring in even more international visitors to contribute to economic growth
New figures shared by Make It York, the city’s destination management organisation, show visitors spent a whopping £2.01 billion in 2024 – a 5.4 per cent increase compared to the year before
In total, York welcomed 9.4 million visitors last year, with more than 1.7 million of them staying overnight in mostly hotels or serviced accommodation.
The tourism industry is also helping to support local jobs – in 2024, it accounted for over 16,700 full-time equivalent jobs, up nearly 5 per cent from the previous year.
Astonishingly, York’s international visitor numbers are growing faster than national averages.
Now, the city’s leaders hope to build on this success by promoting York more widely around the world, with campaigns to promote York’s history, culture, and hospitality already underway with visits to industry fairs in China, the Netherlands and Mexico.
As reported by York Press, Sarah Loftus, Managing Director of Make It York, told the council’s Shareholder Committee on October 13: ‘We’ve been inundated with family visits, other places haven’t got the resources to do that.
‘We’ve got strong international visitor figures this year, we’ve done a lot of work on that, it’s having a massive impact.’
Millions of tourists flock to visit the UK every year – but which country provides the nation with the most visitors?
From cobbled streets, historic buildings, a Royal Family and beautiful coastlines, the United Kingdom has lots of offer.
In a poll of 1,006 visitors to York in 2024 to 2025, 66 respondents – the highest number of those from outside of the UK – said they had travelled from the US
The tourism industry is also helping to support local jobs in York – in 2024, it accounted for over 16,700 full-time equivalent jobs, up nearly 5 per cent from the previous year
But there’s one particular country that is attracted to our endless countryside and vibrant cities.
The United States tops everywhere else, with a whopping 5.6 million estimated visits to Great Britain in 2024, according to data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
France followed with 3.6 million residents visiting the country last year.
Meanwhile, Germany came third highest, with 3.3 million tourists jetting over to visit Great Britain in 2024.
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