Yorkshire Facts

Key facts

• Yorkshire is England’s largest county with a population bigger than Scotland.
• Yorkshire is home to three national parks (North York Moors National Park, Yorkshire Dales National Park and Peak District National Park).

Yorkshire’s Michelin Star restaurants

• The Angel at Hetton
• The Pipe and Glass, South Dalton
• The Black Swan at Oldstead
• The Star Inn at Harome
• The Man Behind the Curtain in Leeds

Yorkshire boasts more top racecourses than any other region of the UK

• Ripon Racecourse
• Catterick Racecourse
• Beverley Racecourse
• Thirsk Racecourse
• Pontefract Racecourse
• Wetherby Racecourse
• York Racecourse
• Redcar Racecourse
• Doncaster Racecourse

Famous people from Yorkshire include:

• Dame Judi Dench
• David Hockney
• Brontë sisters
• Henry Moore
• Barbara Hepworth
• Joe Root
• Brian Blessed
• Sean Bean
• Jeremy Clarkson
• Dr Who, Jodie Whittaker.

Yorkshire birthplace of many Olympic heroes including:

• Athlete – Hannah Cockroft
• Athlete – Jessica Ennis-Hill
• Boxer – Nicola Adams
• Cyclist – Lizzie Deignan (formerly Armitstead)
• Cyclist – Ed Clancy
• Triathletes – Alistair and Jonny Brownlee

And don’t forget cycling…

• Yorkshire hosted the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in 2014 which generated £102 million for the county’s economy.
• The first ever Tour de Yorkshiretook place in May 2015, attracting top riders including Sir Bradley Wiggins, Ed Clancy and Ben Swift.
• Tour de Yorkshire 2016 took place in April 2016 and attracted riders such as Sir Bradley Wiggins, Luke Rowe and Lars Petter Nordhaug. It generated almost £60 million for the economy.
• In 2016, the Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire become one of the most lucrative women’s cycle race in the world, offering financial parity as the men with a total of £50,000 to individuals and teams, and the same media coverage as the men.
• Tour de Yorkshire 2017 went to Bridlington, Scarborough, Tadcaster, Harrogate, Bradford and Fox Valley, Sheffield ran from Friday, April 28 to Sunday, April 30. 
• Tour de Yorkshire 2018 went to Beverley, Doncaster, Barnsley, Ilkley, Richmond and Scarborough and saw the race grow to four stages for the men and two stages for the women.
• Tour de Yorkshire 2019 visited Barnsley, Bedale, Bridlington, Doncaster, Halifax, Leeds, Scarborough and Selby; taking place 2-5 May 2019.
• Yorkshire hosted the 2019 UCI Road World Cycling Championships in September.

Yorkshire Domestic Overnight Tourism Q2-Q4 2021 (April-December)

• Trips 9.6 million
• £2,229 million
• 31.6 million nights

Source: Visit Britain

Yorkshire Day Trips

• 140.8 million trips
• Days visits represent 10% of all trips
• £6,429 million spent
• 11% of all tourism spend

All data is from the Great Britain Day Visits Survey (GBDVS)

Yorks / Humber Visitor Admission Trends 2021: Breakdown by admission charge

87 attractions providing data

• 2020/21 change %
• Free +41 <50
• Paid +47
• Coastal (<10)
• Rural +39 <50
• Urban +49 <50

<50 Base size below 50 (please treat with caution) <10 Base size less than 10 (figure therefore omitted)

2020/21 Stated change in volume of overseas visitors

• 40% of sites stating ‘Up’
• 45% of sites stating ‘Consistent’
• 15% of sites stating ‘Down’

2020/21 Stated change in volume of Local / Day Trip

• 45% of sites stating ‘Up’
• 23% of sites stating ‘Consistent’
• 32% of sites stating ‘Down’

2020/21 Stated change in volume of Family Visitors

• 56% of sites stating ‘Up’
• 30% of sites stating ‘Consistent’
• 14% of sites stating ‘Down’

Returning to Pre-pandemic Staffing Levels: By Region, Area Type and Admission Charge

• 75% of attractions are back to pre-pandemic staffing levels