Why thrifty tourists are heading to Yorks

YORKSHIRE and Northern Ireland are now among the best-value tourism destinations in the world, according to the leading travel guide Lonely Planet.
The Shambles in YorkThe Shambles in York
The Shambles in York

A combination of marketing and the collapse in the value of the pound in the wake of Brexit has contributed to their appeal, say the guide’s editors, who earlier this year placed Leeds at number five on a list of top European destinations.

The latest edition of its Best in Travel publication advises readers to “make the exchange rate work even harder” by heading to Yorkshire, Devon, Cornwall, Bath and Edinburgh.

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It says: “The most likely scenario is that the UK stays affordable to international visitors - at least until a true picture of the post-Brexit landscape emerges.”

The guide singles out Yorkshire and Belfast, where the coast around Giant’s Causeway is ranked the number one region in the world to visit in 2018.

Even London, which the guide says is “not traditionally a paradise for frugal adventurers”, is now considered a value-for-money destination,

The publication uses the 15th century buildings of York’s Shambles to illustrate what it calls Britain’s “big ticket” cities.

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However, York destinations feature only second in the list of Yorkshire’s most popular free and paid-for attractions. Sheffield’s Millennium Gallery is the top free venue and the Flamingo Land theme park the biggest private draw.

Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of the tourism body Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “The region can offer a truly diverse, exciting and inspiring holiday and the current climate may well mean we’ll be welcoming more visitors to explore this wonderful county.”