Tourism bosses warm up for easter eggs-stravanganza
Published: 20 April 2011
TOURISM bosses are warming up for an Easter Eggs-stravaganza this weekend as sizzling temperatures look set to send visitor numbers soaring.
The hot weather combined with a triple whammy of Easter, the Royal Wedding and the May Bank Holiday is expected to see visitor numbers boom, resulting in what could be a record-breaking spring for Yorkshire tourism.
Nostell Priory, near Wakefield, has been busy preparing its giant mountain of Easter Eggs ready to be discovered in its popular trail as it gears up for an influx of visitors.
Chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire Gary Verity was at the National Trust property as the team prepared to welcome families for the start of the trail on Saturday at 11am (until Easter Monday).
Gary Verity is confident the extended holidays will be great for tourism businesses right across Yorkshire. He said: "We've already had a fantastic February half-term this year; 47% of responding attractions said they had more visitors than the same period last year. Now with the terrific weather and the extended holidays we are sure this is going to be a record breaking spring for Yorkshire."
Janet Bradley, Visitor Services Manager at Nostell Priory, said: "Our visitor numbers are up on last year and we are really looking forward to our Easter Eggstravaganza. We've got nearly 3,000 eggs to be won so there will hopefully be lots of happy children."
Latest statistics from Welcome to Yorkshire show that 74% of businesses feel confident about the performance of their business for the coming spring and Easter period.
Newby Hall and Gardens, Ripon, has got off to a flying start since opening at the beginning of the month with visitors numbers UP around 40%.
They have also sold six times more season tickets than the same time last year with families coming from as far afield as Lancashire, Lincolnshire and Northumberland to snap up the reduced price offer.
Newby's Administrator Stuart Gill said: "Our Easter Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday event with the fairytale characters in the woods is always one of the busiest events we do here at Newby - this year with Narnia DVDs as prizes we could be set to break all records!"
Flamingo Land, near Malton, is preparing for an egg-stra special weekend with the opening over its brand new Children's Planet on Good
Friday: an adventure play area with new animal exhibits.
And the Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster looks set for a busy Easter.
Cheryl Williams, Yorkshire Wildlife Park director, said: "This Easter is looking like it could be the busiest weekend we've ever had here at the YWP. We've had a strong start to the year and a Bank Holiday combined with some great weather could see us break our records."
With temperatures set to top 20C this weekend, visitors will flock to the coast and already accommodation providers are seeing bookings soar.
The award-winning Field House Farm Holiday Cottages, at Sewerby near Bridlington, already reports a major increase on last year's bookings.
Owners John and Angela Foster said: "Bookings for our existing 5 star cottages having far exceeded last year's. We offer our guests accessible, luxury accommodation with plenty of eco credentials and are already taking bookings for our brand new development, High Barn Cottages, built using green technologies, which is very exciting."
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For a whole host of Easter events go to: www.yorkshire.com/easter
About Welcome to Yorkshire
• Welcome to Yorkshire is the official tourism agency for Yorkshire, working to grow the county's visitor economy.
• Welcome to Yorkshire is funded by Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency charged with improving the Yorkshire and Humber economy.
• Key facts include:
• Tourism in Yorkshire is worth £7 billion annually
• The county's industry employs almost a quarter of a million people
• There are 216 million visits to Yorkshire each year
For more news and a free image bank www.yorkshire.com/mediacentre
For further information contact:
Jo Francisco - Press Officer
Email: jfrancisco@yorkshire.com
Direct Line: 0113 322 3563
Mobile: 07769257327
Graham Poucher - Press Officer
Email: gpoucher@yorkshire.com
Direct Line: 0113 322 3578
Mobile: 07805 958728