14 - 23 March 2025

York is Celebrating English Tourism Week!

It’s officially English Tourism Week (14th - 23rd March 2025), a 10-day celebration dedicated to supporting tourism businesses and destinations. Coordinated by VisitEngland, English Tourism Week highlights the economic importance of tourism to local economies and promotes the innovation, quality, and diversity of experiences on offer - encouraging more domestic travel.

Tourism is a major driver of York’s economy, contributing £1.8 billion in 2023. It also supported over 16,000 full-time equivalent jobs, directly and indirectly. At Visit York, we work year-round to promote the city to visitors from across the UK and beyond, ensuring that local businesses, from attractions and hotels to restaurants and independent retailers, benefit from a thriving visitor economy.

Businesses across York are celebrating English Tourism Week with photos, social media posts, and videos to showcase the impact of tourism on the city. See below a handful of businesses who have shared how they believe tourism supports their business, the local economy, and the York community.

Visit York Visitor Information Centre

"Tourism is at the core of what we do at the Visit York Visitor Information Centre. Every day, we help visitors discover the best of York, from historic attractions to hidden gems. By welcoming tourists, we support local businesses, encourage longer stays, and ensure York’s rich history and culture continue to thrive for future generations."

Shambles Market

"Shambles Market is at the heart of York’s thriving independent scene, welcoming both locals and visitors every day. Tourism brings a fantastic energy to the market, supporting our traders and creating a vibrant shopping and dining experience. Many visitors return year after year, helping to sustain our local businesses and keep York’s market tradition alive."

National Centre for Early Music

"We enjoy welcoming audiences and musicians from across the world to the city, particularly for our York Early Music Festival, the highlight of the NCEM’s annual programme. The York Early Music Festival was established in 1977 and celebrates historically informed music making of the highest international standard, presented across York’s medieval churches, guildhalls and historic houses."

City Cruises York

"When you join us on a City Cruise, you're not just enjoying a scenic tour. You're becoming a part of York's story, contributing to its thriving economy, and helping to preserve its unique character for generations to come. We're proud to be a part of it, and we're delighted to welcome you aboard."

The Deathly Dark Tours

"We have put a lot of work into making our ghost tours what they are today and the awards that we have won speak for themselves, but without the effect that our beautiful city has on the hearts of people all around the world, telling them to visit York, we simply wouldn't have the audiences that we do!

More than 90% of our guests come from outside of York and many of them come to York specifically to do one of our tours, which is wonderful for us but also for the other businesses that they visit when they're here.

Whenever there's a big event in the city, such as the Viking Festival, Colour & Light, Ice Sculpture Trail etc we see a direct effect on our ticket sales and that's wonderful.

Many York residents aren't a fan of the city being busy, as it affects traffic and queues for shops, but we LOVE it as it means we can share doing what we love with more people and can only mean bigger and better things for York!"

Avorium

"At Avorium, we sell a wide range of York related gifts and products. As a result, tourists make up a huge proportion of our customer base. We really notice our sales go up during busier tourist spells of the year, particularly at Christmas."

Historical Gems Tour & A Taste of York Chocolate

"Tourism is at the heart of our walking tours in York. Without visitors, our Historical Gems and Witches & History walking tours simply would not exist!

We at Enthral Experiences believe that tourism supports not only our tours, but also the wider local economy, supporting hotels, restaurants, and independent shops. Our tours hopefully encourage visitors to stay longer and explore more, connecting further with York’s rich history and fascinating past.

By supporting our walking tours, visitors also directly invest in York’s cultural heritage. Tourism helps preserve and share York’s historical legacy, ensuring its stories continue to inspire both visitors and the local community alike."

Yorwaste

"The tourism industry contributes a substantial part to the York and North Yorkshire economy. Consequently, tourism businesses contribute a significant part to Yorwaste’s turnover. Waste and recycling are an essential, although often unseen aspect of tourism, and Yorwaste is proud to be a major supplier of waste management services to the hospitality and visitor attraction businesses in the industry."