TOURISTS will be urged to visit the Leeds region as part of a new campaign that aims to get more people flocking to the district when it is safe to do so as lockdown restrictions are eased.

That’s what Leeds City Council is hoping people will do, as those from Leeds and further afield are also being encouraged to become tourists in the city as lockdown restrictions begin to be lifted.

The city saw more than 30 million visitors in 2019, which the council claims was worth £1.89 billion to the local economy.

But, as a result of the pandemic, the number of visitors in 2020 is expected to drop to 2012 levels.

This has led tourist board Visit Leeds to begin its Rediscover Leeds campaign, aimed at encouraging visitors to rediscover the city.

Leeds City Council claims the campaign has been developed by gathering intelligence from Visit Britain to understand how people are feeling about returning to leisure activities and who the most likely to return are.

While the initial focus will be on getting those from Leeds and surrounding areas into the city, the campaign will begin encouraging a wider audience to the city, once it is safe to do so.

Rediscover Leeds will encourage visitors to make the most of this by “encouraging short breaks and holidays” to the city when it is appropriate.

It is also hoped Leeds will once again become a conference and events destination, with business tourism worth £559.5 million to the local economy in 2019 alone.

Leader of Leeds City Council Judith Blake said: “Leeds is a world-class city that is well known for its impressive culture, tourism and hospitality industries, all of which have suffered immensely due to coronavirus. Rediscover Leeds is a welcome first step in getting people back into our city and supporting our industries while ensuring public health and safety remains a top priority."

Belinda Eldridge, Head of Visitor Economy for Visit Leeds, said: “The tourism, leisure and hospitality industries are vital to our economy and they face incredibly tough times ahead as people navigate the new normal.

"Visit Leeds is determined to support them by encouraging people back into the city in a safe way, one step at a time.

"Our city has so much on offer and I am confident that it will recover beyond expectations. We will soon be back showing the world what a fantastic destination Leeds is.”

For more information and inspiration for your trip to Leeds visit www.visitleeds.co.uk.