A DECISION to open the Royal Enclosure to York racegoers and their guests during Royal Ascot has been backed by tourism chiefs - despite claims the move was an admission that southerners were shunning the city.

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of York Tourism Bureau, said the bureau was delighted the Royal Enclosure was to be opened up to a new audience of visitors when the five-day festival comes to the city in June.

For the first time, Ascot has invited York Racecourse annual members, as well as their own, to apply for prestigious tickets in the Royal Enclosure - and has also given them a chance to bring a guest.

The move has been made because Ascot chiefs believe that members of the Berkshire course will not travel north in the same numbers.

But a national newspaper columnist claimed that talk of spare capacity in the Royal Enclosure was "a convenient euphemism for the sad fact that holding the famous meeting in York while the Ascot track undergoes a £185 million redevelopment has not convinced all racegoers".

Nick Smith, communications boss at Ascot, said this was not the case. "When we went to the annual members at York there was significant commitment to going to the Royal Enclosure.

"We don't think that extending this opportunity to guests of members is anything more than sponsorship."

Mrs Cruddas said the move was going to allow new visitors to enjoy the splendour of the Royal Enclosure - something that had to be good news.

"We will have 60,000 visitors to Royal Ascot each day. Of course there will be a percentage who decide not to make the trip north this year, but Royal Enclosure visitors from London and the south-east will still be in their thousands - many of whom are very excited by the prospect of visiting York," she said.

"We're delighted that York Royal Enclosure ticket holders have been given the opportunity to bring a guest. The move by Royal Ascot to York this year also means that the event is going to attract a new audience of visitors from the north of England and Scotland, giving them the opportunity to visit Royal Ascot for the first time."

Updated: 10:33 Tuesday, April 19, 2005