Tourism on the North Yorkshire coast has had a boost from ‘extremely busy’ cultural events and activities at the end of 2024.
And a TV ‘Chaser’ was one of the reasons given.
Cultural and leisure events across the coast in Scarborough, Whitby, and Filey have been “hugely successful” and have attracted record crowds, according to senior councillors.
It comes as a destination marketing campaign seeking to position North Yorkshire as a “must-visit destination” will be launched later this year.
Cllr Simon Myers, the executive member for culture and arts on North Yorkshire Council, said that the pantomime at Scarborough Spa, which featured Anne Hegarty from The Chase, was “a huge success with sales far exceeding any previous pantos at the venue”.
He also noted that Whitby Pavilion had had “an extremely busy December including nearly 2,000 people attending the cinema”.
A report prepared for the full meeting of the authority today (Tuesday) states that Scarborough’s Live Advent Calendar which took place last December, was attended by more than 150,000 people while ticketed events were attended by around 7,000 people.
Meanwhile, last year’s second annual Scarborough Lights festival included more than 50 individual light installations and events across 44 locations with “highlights such as South Cliff Fire Garden, Reflections at St Mary’s Church and The Aquarium of Light at the Spa, as well as free displays and installations,” according to Coun Myers.
Marketing campaigns
Meanwhile, NYC’s tourism team has been working on “several exciting destination marketing campaigns that will position North Yorkshire as a must-visit destination and inspire future visits are planned for 2025”.
Cllr Mark Crane, the executive member for open to business, said: “The ‘There’s more to North Yorkshire’ campaign is the first of these, with a focus on myth-busting some perceptions of North Yorkshire identified in 2024 research.
“The campaign will take place between May and July to coincide with the launch of the new website.”
Tourism sector drop-in events are planned over the next few months to offer businesses the opportunity to meet members of the authority’s tourism team, according to the report.
Last week, Visit North Yorkshire also attended TravMedia’s major International Media Marketplace (IMM) conference in London to help promote the region.
Cllr Crane added that officers “continue to meet with Make it York, City of York Council and Visit England on a monthly basis to continue development” of its local visitor economy partnership.