Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

generates more than £9 billion per annum and supporting almost 225,000 jobs. During 2007 recorded 92 million day visitors and 12.8 million that stayed at least one night in the region.Yorkshire Tourism Board (2008)
"Key facts and figures"
By 2015, the value of tourism was in excess of £7 billion. Yorkshire is around in size. The official tourism body for the region is Welcome to Yorkshire.

Places to stay

In the county of Yorkshire there is a choice of almost 4,800 hotels, guest houses, self-catering establishments and campsites. It is distributed unevenly throughout the region with the greatest numbers of beds to be found in the North York Moors,

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954. The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills rising from the Vale of York w ...

and around

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa w ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

and

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...

account for the largest stock of serviced accommodation, but offer very little in the way of camping or caravan accommodation.

Getting around

Major Yorkshire cities such as

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

, Hull and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

can be reached from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in less than two hours by train.

Leeds Bradford International Airport Leeds Bradford Airport is located in Yeadon, in the City of Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire, England, about northwest of Leeds city centre, and about northeast from Bradford city centre. It serves Leeds and Bradford and the ...

and

Doncaster Sheffield Airport Doncaster Sheffield Airport , formerly named and commonly referred to as Robin Hood Airport, is an unscheduled international airport closed to passenger traffic. The airport is located in Finningley near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. ...

serve many destinations in Europe and Africa and the port of Hull offers services to major European ferry ports at

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

and

Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (, from: ''Brugge aan zee'' meaning "Bruges at Sea", french: Zeebruges) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zee ...

. Major road links include: the M62 from Hull to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

; the M1 from Leeds to London; the A1 and

A1(M) A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate motorway sections in England. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1, a major north–south road which connects London, the capital of England, with Edinburgh, the capit ...

which passes North to South through Yorkshire; the M18 which connects the M1, A1(M) and the M62, and the M180 which extends from the M18 to A180 at

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of L ...

Tourist attractions in Yorkshire

City attractions

The city of

attracted 3.95 million visitors in 2004York City Council (2005),
"Tourism on the up in York"
/ref> of which 24 per cent were from overseas. Visitors spent a total of £283.6 million in the city during 2004. The walled city of is the county capital of Yorkshire and was founded by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

in AD 71 on a fortified site at the confluence of the

River Foss The River Foss is in North Yorkshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Ouse. It rises in the Foss Crooks Woods near Oulston Reservoir close to the village of Yearsley and runs south through the Vale of York to the Ouse in the centre of ...

and River Ouse. The city skyline is dominated by the medieval Gothic style

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Arch ...

, and has a rich heritage and culture developed over 2,000 years. York's top three tourist attractionsYorkshire Tourism Board (2008)
Yorkshire Visitor Attraction Monitor and Visit Britain Annual Attraction Report
are the

National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant ...

and the Jorvik Viking Centre. Other attractions include

Merchant Adventurers' Hall The Merchant Adventurers' Hall is a medieval guildhall in the city of York, England. It is a Grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument. History The majority of the Hall was built in 1357 by a group of influential men and women w ...

The Shambles The Shambles is a historic street in York, England, featuring preserved medieval buildings, some dating back as far as the fourteenth century. The street is narrow with many timber-framed buildings with jettied floors that overhang the street ...

, Clifford's Tower and York's smallest street Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate. In the 2017 Condé Nast Traveler survey of readers, York rated 12th among The 15 Best Cities in the UK for visitors. A 2014 report, based on 2012 data, stated that the city receives 6.9 million visitors annually; they contribute £564 million to the economy and support over 19,000 jobs. Morris dancers York 8667

is Yorkshire's largest city based on resident population.Yorkshire Tourist Board (2008)
"2008 Population Estimates"
Attractions include

Roundhay Park Roundhay Park in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is one of the biggest city parks in Europe.Only Richmond Park (London), Phoenix Park (Dublin) and Silesian Culture and Recreation Park ( Chorzów, Poland) are larger. It covers more than of park ...

Leeds City Museum Leeds City Museum, originally established in 1819, reopened in 2008 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is housed in the former Mechanics' Institute built by Cuthbert Brodrick, in Cookridge Street (now Millennium Square). It is one of nine ...

, Leeds Art Gallery and the

Henry Moore Institute Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

. In the 2017 Condé Nast Traveler survey, Leeds rated sixth.

is Yorkshire's second largest city based on resident population. Attractions include the Sheffield Winter Gardens which attracted 2.5 million visitors in 2008 making it the most visited tourist attraction in Yorkshire and placing it in the UK's top 20 list of attractions. Yorkshire's third largest city of Bradford is home to the

National Media Museum The National Science and Media Museum (formerly The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, 1983–2006 and then the National Media Museum, 2006–2017), located in Bradford, West Yorkshire, is part of the national Science Museum G ...

, which was the third most visited tourist attraction in Yorkshire in 2008.

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

and

Bridlington Bridlington is a coastal town and a civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is about north of Hull and east of York. The Gypsey Race enters the North Sea at its harbour. The 2011 ...

are popular seaside towns located on the North Sea coast of Yorkshire and close to the picturesque Yorkshire Moors. All three towns have sandy beaches that attract many day trippers and holidaymakers during the summer months.

Major rural tourist attractions

Although North Yorkshire is the UK's largest county in size it is the second lowest population density in England. The Yorkshire Moors is an area of outstanding natural beauty designated as a National Park in 1952 and situated in the county of North Yorkshire. It contains one of the largest expanses of heather moorland in the UK. The Yorkshire Dales National Park was established in 1954 and offers visitors outstanding scenery, a variety of wildlife and recreation options. An area known as the
Yorkshire Nature Triangle
comprises some of the county's most popular wildlife-watching locations and stretches from

in the north, to

Spurn Spurn is a narrow sand tidal island located off the tip of the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England that reaches into the North Sea and forms the north bank of the mouth of the Humber Estuary. It was a spit with a semi-permanent con ...

in the south eastern corner and across to the

Vale of York The Vale of York is an area of flat land in the northeast of England. The vale is a major agricultural area and serves as the main north–south transport corridor for Northern England. The Vale of York is often supposed to stretch from the R ...

. It includes popular sites like the RSPB's

Bempton Cliffs Bempton Cliffs is a section of precipitous coast at Bempton in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is run by the RSPB as a nature reserve and is known for its breeding seabirds, including northern gannet, Atlantic puffin, razorbill, comm ...

Spurn Point Spurn is a narrow sand tidal island located off the tip of the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England that reaches into the North Sea and forms the north bank of the mouth of the Humber Estuary. It was a spit with a semi-permanent con ...

and more than 20 other nature reserves. Wildlife that draws many visitors to the area includes puffins, bitterns, whale-watching from

, otters, avocets and red kites. The 2015 Easter Special edition of the ''

Springwatch ''Springwatch'', ''Autumnwatch'' and ''Winterwatch'', sometimes known collectively as ''The Watches'', are annual BBC television series which chart the fortunes of British wildlife during the changing of the seasons in the United Kingdom. The p ...

'' TV show was broadcast from the county's East Coast seabird colonies. The moorland and the village of

Haworth Haworth () is a village in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, in the Pennines, south-west of Keighley, west of Bradford and east of Colne in Lancashire. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhope. Nearby villages inc ...

Brontë Country Brontë Country is a name given to an area of south Pennine hills west of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. The name comes from the Brontë sisters, who wrote such literary classics as ''Jane Eyre'' (Charlotte Brontë), ''Wuthering Heights ...

are also popular tourist destinations owing to the work of the Brontë sisters.

Other major attractions

Other major tourist attractions in Yorkshire include: * White Scar Cave, Ingleton: The Longest Show Cave in England and the UK. * Xscape, Castleford: Artificial ski area, climbing zone and skate park. * The Deep Aquarium, Hull: Aquarium that houses 40 sharks and over 3,500 fish. * Sewerby Hall and Gardens, Bridlington: Grade II listed stately home with extensive gardens situated on the Yorkshire coast.

References

External links

York Shambles

English Tourist Board

Yorkshire Tourist Board

The Leisure Guide

Jorvik Viking Centre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tourism In Yorkshire