York has been named as the UK’s best spot for group visits in a survey of magazine readers.
The tourism awards were run by magazine Group Travel Organiser. Readers were asked to vote for the Most Group Friendly UK Destination. York beat competition from other finalists London, Blackpool, Canterbury, Eastbourne, Hull, Isle of Wight and Stratford-upon-Avon. York also won the title in 2006 and 2009.
Michelle Brown, senior marketing executive for Visit York, the city’s official tourism board, said: “We are absolutely delighted to regain this title.
“Our dedicated groups desk prides itself on the service it provides for groups coming into York and with top attractions such as the National Railway Museum, Jorvik, York Minster and York Castle Museum, as well as a fantastic variety of group-friendly accommodation, we aim to keep York the number one choice for this lucrative group visit market.”
VisitYork research estimates that tourism brought more than £25m into the economy in York in 2010. It says nearly 10,000 group visits were made to the city in the year. The average size of each group visit was around 30 people, 62% of group visitors stayed for one to two nights and a further third stayed between three and four nights.
The award ceremony took place in London and was hosted by Simon Calder, top travel journalist and travel editor of the Independent.
York was also recently a finalist in the Coach Friendly City of the Year category at the 2011 Coach Tourism Awards.