SELBY and Ainsty MP Nigel Adams has welcomed a report setting out the contribution made by music tourism to the Yorkshire economy.

Mr Adams, who is chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Music, said Wish You Were Here 2016 clearly showed the success and economic power of music in the UK.

He said the study, by UK Music, revealed that 669,000 music tourists visited Yorkshire in 2015 to attend a live concert or music festival. These visitors generated £262 million in total for the local economy, and sustained more than 3,000 full-time jobs across the area.

Mr Adams added: "Britain’s music tourism industry supports over 43,000 jobs and generates £3.6 billion

in direct and indirect spend. These astounding figures are a testament to the incredible power of this country’s live music and the people who work and play in it.

"The 27.5 million music fans who travel to and around the UK pursuing their musical hearts create a unique economy, one that is incredibly important to this country’s welfare.

"In 2015, 69 per cent of visits by music tourists occurred outside of London. It is absolutely right, therefore, that UK Music looks at the impact of live music in every nation and region of this country."

He said in Hull, to be the UK’s City of Culture in 2017, nearly 200,000 people attended a live music event in 2015. Over 34 per cent of the live music audience there consisted of music tourists, who supported 145 full-time jobs.