Brexit boom: Yorkshire tourism surges as weaker pound makes us want to stay home

IT has been blamed for everything from job losses to a stagnating property market. But now the Brexit vote is being credited with a surge in tourism which is benefiting businesses and visitor attractions in Yorkshire.

By The Newsroom Monday, 8th August 2016, 6:27 pm Updated Thursday, 25th August 2016, 8:03 pm

Attractions like The Deep in Hull are enjoying a Brexit boom

The post-Brexit collapse in sterling has been driving the increase in visitors following the EU referendum, according to travel analytics firm ForwardKeys.

Flight bookings to the UK rose 7.1 per cent in the four weeks after the vote as demand from the US and Asia saw tourists splash out on trips to Britain. The firm said: “The most favourable exchange rate in decades is probably the major driver for the uptake in bookings to Britain.

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“The 10 per cent drop in the value of sterling after the referendum sharpened interest in the UK as a holiday destination from countries around the world.”

The World of James Herriot at Thirsk. Some of Yorkshires top attractions are seeing an increase in visitors.

Bookings from Europe were up five per cent, buoyed by the pound’s fall against the euro. Non-European arrivals were up by 8.7 per cent, with bookings from Hong Kong rising 30.1 per cent, the US by 9.2 per cent and Canada 7.4 per cent.

Chief executive of the Deep in Hull Colin Brown said they had seen more visitors from Germany, Holland and Belgium. “We are noticing a lot more ferry passengers coming in since the pound went down,” he added.

Managing director of The World of James Herriot Ian Ashton said there had been a “noticeable” increase in visitors from Germany, Denmark and Sweden. Why, he’s not so sure. It could be the amount of publicity the UK has had in Europe, proving the old adage there’s no such thing as bad news: “It’s probably three things - linked to sterling, to Brexit and more marketing. Maybe because it has been in the news.”

Simon Murphy, of Dean Court Hotel, in York, saw the number of US guests go up 236 per cent in the first week after the Brexit vote, and is up in both average room rate and occupancy. “I can definitely say there has been an increase in American bookings since Brexit and from Europe, particularly Spain, Italy and France”, he said.

The World of James Herriot at Thirsk. Some of Yorkshires top attractions are seeing an increase in visitors.

Generally, however, hotel occupancy rates across York following the winter’s flooding were 1.5 per cent lower than last year, in the second quarter to June. Destination management organisation Make It York is rolling out its biggest ever domestic marketing campaign to help make up ground after a difficult start to the year.

Kate McMullen, head of tourism, said it was too early to judge the impact more attractive exchange rates were having locally. She added: “What we do know is that Visit Britain predicts that 2016 will be another record-breaking year for growth from inbound tourism, and has recently launched its largest international marketing campaign, including across three of York’s largest and most valuable markets – France, Germany and the US. We are doing all we can to ensure that York benefits from this campaign.”