Hull’s civic and cultural leaders have welcomed a rise in day visits to the city, following the release of national figures from VisitBritain.
Hull has also been named as the number one place to visit during 2017, along with the World Athletics Championships, New Hadrian’s Cavalry exhibition and ICC Champions Trophy.
Councillor Stephen Brady, Leader of Hull City Council said:
“These figures and the recommendation from Visit Britain for 2017 are a clear sign of the direction that our city is travelling.
“The region already has a vibrant and booming tourism offer and as we begin our year as UK City of Culture begins, we hope to see the value of tourism to the city continue to rise.
“Our ambition to become a world-class visitor destination is firmly in our sights and we will continue to work hard to ensure that the city is ready for a bright future”.
Martin Green, Chief Executive of Hull 2017 said:
“Hull is on everybody’s lips. In the last week alone, we have seen the city grace the travel pages of national newspapers and monthly glossies alongside the likes of Paris, New York and Ibiza as a must-visit destination.
“Less than a week in, UK City of Culture is already having a significant impact on visitor numbers with 60,000 flocking to the city for our opening event on New Year’s Day.
“We’re working to ensure these figures continue to rise as word spreads that Hull is a city on the up.”
Anthony Yates, Tourism Manager for Visit Hull and East Yorkshire said:
“Following 4.7 million day trip visitors to Hull in 2015, we are delighted to see these figures continue to rise nationally.
“With events like Place Des Anges, Sea of Hull and the Freedom Festival creating an incredible build up to our year as City of Culture 2017, we fully expect our 2016 figures to have increased and to hit six million visitors during our year in the spotlight.
“As we move into 2017 and beyond, the challenge will now be to convert those day visitors into overnight and weekend breaks which we know the city is fully prepared to do.”
