Le Tour already bringing more tourists to Yorkshire

Cycol Rendezvous Tour guest riders on Buttertubs Pass during a preview of the first stage of the 2014 Tour de France from Skipton, which took in Kidstones and Buttertubs Passes.

TOURISM bosses in Yorkshire believe hosting the Tour de France this summer has already helped to boost visitor numbers to the region.

Welcome to Yorkshire saw an increase in tourists, the length of time people were staying and the amount of money they were spending in the months after it was announced that the world famous race’s Grand Départ will be coming to the region in July.

A spokesman said this could have helped play a part in the recent announcement that record number of overseas visitors have been coming to the UK.

Overseas residents made 32.89m visits to the UK in 2013 – a rise of six per cent on the 2012 total and higher than the previous record of 32.78m set in 2007.

The amount these foreign visitors spent last year rose 13 per cent to a record £20.99bn, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.

And tourism bosses in Yorkshire predict this year will be even more successful.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “Since December 2012 when we announced our bid to bring the Tour de France to Yorkshire was successful, we’ve seen a major increase in Yorkshire’s global profile.