York’s attractions drew 17% fewer visits in the first half of 2026, a setback for a local tourism economy that contributed £2.08 billion in 2025 even as visitor numbers fell.
Make It York, the city’s tourism body, tallied nearly 972,800 attraction visits from January through June in a report to the City Council. City-center footfall totaled 15.08 million over the same period, down 8% from a year earlier.
The decline was steepest at smaller attractions, where visits fell 30%, compared with a 15% drop at major sites. Across all attractions, visits rose 2% from a year earlier in the second quarter, though the six-month total remained lower.
The first-half decline followed a year in which tourism’s contribution to York’s economy increased despite fewer visitors. Make It York estimated that contribution at £2.08 billion in 2025, up 3.6% from the previous year.
The tourism body counted 8.88 million visitors in 2025, versus 9.4 million in 2024. It estimated that the sector directly and indirectly supported about 15,900 full-time-equivalent jobs in 2025. Those annual estimates cover a different period from the latest attraction and footfall figures.
In a Guardian column, Emma Beddington cited parking at £5 an hour and York’s mix of sightseeing and party tourism as possible deterrents. Make It York’s figures do not establish why footfall and attraction visits declined.
York Christmas Market is scheduled to run from Nov. 12 through Dec. 21. The City Council approved Tuesday closures as a trial for the 2026 event, saying the breaks are intended to improve city-center access for residents, visitors and disabled people. Council materials also identify potential economic costs during the trial. An assessment of its impact is scheduled for early 2027.
