York welcomed 9.4 million visitors in 2024, and tourism contributed £2.01 billion to the local economy. The latest figures also show a city with a strong overnight market, a large day-visitor audience and high satisfaction among visitors surveyed in 2025.
Contents
- York tourism at a glance
- Visitor numbers and economic impact
- Overnight and day visitors
- How visitors spend money
- How visitors plan and travel
- What visitors do in York
- Visitor experience and likelihood of returning
York tourism at a glance
The main economic-impact measures below come from the Visit York 2024 visitor numbers and economic impact release. The activity, travel and satisfaction measures come from the York Visitor Survey 2025, which recorded 1,006 visitor interviews.
| Measure | Figure | Period or source |
|---|---|---|
| Total visitors | 9.4 million | 2024, Visit York 2024 visitor numbers and economic impact release |
| Tourism contribution | £2.01 billion | 2024, Visit York 2024 visitor numbers and economic impact release |
| Staying visitors | 1.7 million | 2024, Visit York 2024 visitor numbers and economic impact release |
| Average stay | 3.3 nights | 2024, Visit York 2024 visitor numbers and economic impact release |
| Visitor interviews | 1,006 | 2025, York Visitor Survey 2025 |
| Overall experience score | 4.5 | 2025, York Visitor Survey 2025 |
| Visitors rating their experience good or very good | 93% | 2025, York Visitor Survey 2025 |
These figures describe different things and should not be treated as one survey total. The 2024 release measures York’s visitor economy, while the 2025 survey reports the characteristics and opinions of the people interviewed.
Visitor numbers and economic impact
York welcomed 9.4 million visitors in 2024, a 5% increase on 2023, according to the Visit York 2024 visitor numbers and economic impact release. Tourism contributed £2.01 billion to the local economy in 2024, up 5.4% from 2023.
The sector supported 16,788 full-time-equivalent employees in York in 2024. That employment figure was 4.8% higher than in 2023. Together, the economic contribution and employment measures indicate the scale of tourism beyond visits alone: the sector was associated with more than sixteen thousand FTE roles while generating a contribution measured in billions of pounds.
International demand formed a notable part of the 2024 picture. Overseas visitors made up 14% of York’s total visitor volume. They contributed £0.5 billion, described by Visit York as nearly a quarter of York’s economic impact. Among overseas visitors, 43% stayed overnight in York.
The change in day visits was also positive. Day visitor numbers rose 6% in 2024, according to the same Visit York release. This matters when reading the headline total because York’s tourism economy includes both visitors who stay in the city and people who visit for the day.
Overnight and day visitors
The 2024 Visit York figures put staying visitors at 1.7 million, with an average stay of 3.3 nights. Of overnight visitors in 2024, 54% stayed in serviced accommodation and hotels.
The York Visitor Survey 2025 provides a separate view based on its 1,006 completed interviews. In that survey, 60% of respondents were staying visitors and 40% were day visitors. The staying-visitor group included 48% who stayed in accommodation within York and 5% who stayed with friends and relatives in York.
The day-visitor group was split across two reported trip contexts. Twenty-five percent of 2025 respondents were on day trips from home, while 15% were day trips while holidaying outside York or stop-offs en route. These categories add context to the day-visitor share: a York visit could be the main purpose of a day out, or part of a wider journey.
The survey counted 605 staying-visitor interviews and 401 day-visitor interviews. Those counts correspond to the survey’s 60% and 40% visitor split when expressed as rounded percentages. They are interview counts for the 2025 survey, not a citywide estimate of all visitors.
How visitors spend money
Visit York’s 2024 visitor numbers and economic impact release breaks visitor spend into five categories. Retail received the largest reported share, at 34% of visitor spend. Food and drink accounted for 27%, while accommodation accounted for 25%.
Recreation and entertainment received 11% of visitor spend, and transport and getting around the city accounted for 3%.
| Visitor-spend category | Share of visitor spend in 2024 |
|---|---|
| Retail | 34% |
| Food and drink | 27% |
| Accommodation | 25% |
| Recreation and entertainment | 11% |
| Transport and getting around the city | 3% |
The distribution shows that shopping, eating and drinking, and accommodation were the three largest reported areas. The figures are shares of visitor spend in 2024; they do not give a separate cash amount for each category.
How visitors plan and travel
The York Visitor Survey 2025 records several information sources used before and during a visit. Previous experience or local knowledge was the most common reported pre-visit source, used by 81% of visitors. Google was used by 54% before the visit and by 55% during the visit.
Google Maps was used by 47% before the visit and by 46% during the visit. Leaflets were used by 17% before the visit. These results suggest that visitors combined personal familiarity with online search and mapping tools when preparing for or navigating a York trip.
Travel to York was dominated by road-based modes in the 2025 survey. Seventy-seven percent of visitors arrived by car, van, motorhome or motorbike, while 18% arrived by train. Separately, 52% of visitors used Park and Ride to get to York.
Among staying visitors, 85% booked their accommodation in advance. This booking measure applies to staying visitors in the 2025 survey, rather than to all visitors.
What visitors do in York
Exploring the city informally was almost universal among respondents. Ninety-two percent of 2025 visitors went strolling around and enjoying the ambience of York. Food and drink were also central to the visit: 93% ate or drank in a cafe, bar or restaurant before 5pm, and 66% did so after 5pm.
Shopping was common in both regular shops and markets. Eighty-three percent shopped in regular shops, while 64% shopped in a market such as the Shambles or a themed market. Museums and attractions were visited by 82% of respondents.
Other reported activities were visiting friends or relatives, at 7%, and attending a festival or event, at 6%.
The Shambles was the most visited named location in the 2025 survey, visited by 72% of visitors. The National Railway Museum followed at 58%. York Minster was visited by 41%, and 40% walked the City Wall.
| Named York location or activity | Share of 2025 visitors |
|---|---|
| The Shambles | 72% |
| National Railway Museum | 58% |
| York Minster | 41% |
| City Wall | 40% |
| York Castle Museum | 19% |
| Jorvik Viking Centre | 13% |
| Yorkshire Museum | 11% |
| Clifford’s Tower | 10% |
| York’s Chocolate Story | 6% |
The remaining named attractions had lower reported participation: 19% visited York Castle Museum, 13% visited Jorvik Viking Centre, and 11% visited Yorkshire Museum. Clifford’s Tower was visited by 10%, while York’s Chocolate Story was visited by 6%.
These activity percentages are not mutually exclusive. A visitor could stroll, eat, shop and visit several attractions during the same trip, so the figures describe the reach of each activity rather than separate visitor groups.
Visitor experience and likelihood of returning
The York Visitor Survey 2025 recorded an average overall experience score of 4.5. Ninety-three percent of visitors rated their overall experience very good or good. Fifty-six percent said they were likely to return within two years.
For an earlier reference point, 100% of 2024 visitors said they were likely to recommend York, according to the York Visitor Survey 2024. This recommendation figure belongs to the 2024 survey and should not be read as the 2025 return-likelihood result. The two measures also ask different questions: one concerns recommending York, while the other concerns returning within two years.
The 2025 results combine strong reported satisfaction with a clear intention-to-return measure. The 4.5 average score is a summary rating, the 93% figure captures visitors selecting very good or good, and the 56% figure focuses on a future return within a specified period. Keeping those measures separate gives a more precise picture of visitor experience.
Taken together with the 2024 visitor-economy figures, the survey results show York as a destination with substantial visitor volume, a sizeable overnight market, broad use of attractions and strong reported experience among surveyed visitors.