THIS has been the best year for tourism in York since records began.

That will be no surprise to anyone who was in the city centre at the weekend, when crowds flocked to the St Nicholas Fayre.

But it has been the same all year. The city’s main tourist attractions, such as the National Railway Museum, York Minster, Jorvik and the Castle Museum, saw visitor numbers increase by eight per cent on last year.

Hotels have been almost full, and staff at York’s visitor information centre have also been inundated.

The good summer weather certainly helped – as did the NRM’s stunning Mallard reunion. Events such as Illuminating York and the production of Blood + Chocolate also proved popular.

Tourism generates more than £440 million a year for the local economy and creates 23,000 jobs. So a boom year like this is excellent news.

It may be the best sign yet that economically we are beginning to turn the corner. And with the Tour de France coming next year, things should get even better…