At a Glance

What we did: Visit York delivered a major multi-channel summer campaign promoting York as a destination to enjoy from morning through to evening and beyond.

How it benefits York and beyond: The campaign gave York significant visibility across social media, video-on-demand, PR, email, digital advertising and regional family channels.

Who it supports: The activity supported York’s visitor economy and participating businesses by promoting the destination to regional families, couples and wider domestic audiences.

The key result: The campaign generated 1.31 million social impressions, reached almost 983,000 people on social media, delivered 273,117 completed Sky VOD impressions and achieved an estimated PR reach of 3.19 million.

The full story

Visit York delivered wide-reaching destination promotion for York through its Summer in York: Sunrise to Sunset campaign, putting the city in front of audiences across social media, video-on-demand, PR, email, digital advertising and regional family channels.

Developed and delivered through Make It York’s destination marketing activity, the campaign encouraged visitors to make more of York’s long summer days, from morning attractions and outdoor experiences through to shopping, food and drink, culture and the early-evening economy.

Built around the message “One day isn’t enough – arrive early, fall in love by evening, stay for tomorrow,” the campaign ran from late April through to August 2026 and targeted regional families within approximately 60–90 minutes of York, adult couples aged 25–55 and wider domestic short-break audiences.

Social media was at the heart of the campaign, with Summer content generating 1.31 million impressions and reaching 982,807 people. Content also delivered 366,969 video views and 43,674 engagements across the reporting period.

This was supported by £5,000 of paid Facebook and Instagram activity, helping extend Visit York’s destination content to priority audiences and reinforce the Sunrise to Sunset message.

Additional regional activity through Mumbler generated 200,613 campaign impressions across family-focused audiences in York, Leeds, Harrogate, the STAG area, Hull and Ryedale. This included more than 105,000 banner impressions alongside blog, listing, social media and newsletter exposure.

A four-week Sky VOD campaign further extended the campaign beyond Visit York’s owned channels, targeting households across Yorkshire, the North East and North West. It delivered 273,117 completed impressions and reached a cumulative 111,057 households, with approximately 89% of impressions delivered on big-screen devices.

PR activity generated 77 pieces of coverage, providing an estimated 3.19 million opportunities to see and an Advertising Value Equivalent of £78,000.

Visit York’s email audience also provided significant additional exposure throughout the summer. A total of 44 Summer-related emails reached a cumulative 322,428 recipients, generating 188,475 opens and 25.6k clicks.

The dedicated Summer in York homepage advert generated a further 125,994 views, helping direct audiences into the campaign’s central Summer Hub and reinforcing the campaign identity across Visit York’s website.

Alongside this broad reach, the campaign also encouraged audiences to take the next step. Campaign pages received 15,380 views, while outbound website clicks increased by 63.5% to 2,349. Newsletter clicks increased by 128%, demonstrating that the campaign was not only generating visibility but also encouraging visitors to explore more of York’s offer.

Commercial partners also benefited from direct campaign activity. City Cruises UK, York Dungeon and the National Railway Museum participated as Key Partners, with Castle Howard and York Designer Outlet joining as Supporters. Together, the five partners generated 963 identifiable outbound clicks directly from the Summer Hub.

By combining Visit York’s established owned audiences with paid social media, regional partnerships, video-on-demand and PR, Summer in York provided a substantial platform for promoting the city throughout the 2026 summer season.

The campaign supported York’s visitor economy by keeping the destination visible across multiple audience touchpoints while providing clear routes into visitor planning, attractions, transport and participating businesses.