A YORK Minster manager has called for everyone in the city to work together to attract more tourists in 2004.

Visitor services manager Steve Hemming says that, following the introduction of admission charges, the cathedral now finds itself in an extremely competitive environment in trying to attract visitors.

"We need to make sure that what we offer all visitors who come to the Minster is of the highest standard, whether they are coming to a service or wanting to see stained glass," he said, writing in the latest Minster newsletter.

But he said the Minster's job had become harder because the numbers of people visiting historic sites in York had fallen in the last couple of years.

"I am sure we all hope that visitor numbers to York improve over the next few months. It is important that the city works together to turn this around. This will give us all a boost for 2004."

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of York Tourism Bureau, said visitor figures for York had dipped slightly in 2000 and 2001, but with a slight increase for 2002, and total revenue had rocketed over the past five years.

"However, visits to some of the city's historic attractions have showed a steady decline over the last five years. This could be due to the fall in the number of US visits as a total percentage of our visitor numbers but it also seems to follow a national trend."

Mr Hemming said the introduction of entrance charges at the Minster in August had been a huge test. "Yet we managed it, and I think most of us were surprised at how smoothly things went. That this happened was down to the hard work, team spirit and determination of the many people involved."

He said Minster staff had received relatively few complaints since the introduction of charging.

"I think this is due in part to the majority of our visitors understanding why we have had to take this step.

"They understand that it has been a last resort after much soul-searching and after all other avenues have been explored."

He said charges had brought some unexpected benefits, with the number of visits to the Undercroft tripling.

The number of visitors taking guided tours had also risen substantially. This meant more would leave with a deeper understanding of the Minster's history and purpose, and its links with the past.

"Most interestingly, perhaps, anecdotal reports suggest that there seems to be a large number attending daily services since charging began."

Updated: 08:30 Friday, December 19, 2003