VisitEngland has announced its tourism highlights for 2014, while also anticipating that British tourism could receive a boost from a so-called ‘Wiggins effect’ created by the success of British cycling and the hosting of the start of the Tour de France in Yorkshire next year.
The tour begins at the Grand Départ in Leeds on 5 July, with the first three stages of the race taking place along British roads. The race will make its way through scenic British countryside, as well as passing several landmarks along the route.
The first stage will see riders pass through the Yorkshire area, before heading to Harrogate and finishing at York.
Once in York, stage two will provide views of the Bronte family’s village of Haworth, before passing through Holmfirth, the area in which BBC sitcom Last Of The Summer Wine was filmed. The end of the stage will see riders arrive in the UK's former steel capital of Sheffield.
The final stage features a route from historic Cambridge through to London, with the race passing through Epping Forest and the 2012 Olympic Park, while central London’s iconic Mall will form the finishing point in England.
Some of the regions along the cycling route have already begun prepartions to make the most of the expected tourism boom by establishing events related to the Tour. One such event is the Grand Départ Festival in Yorkshire, which is running from 27 March - 6 July 2014, to showcase local art, heritage and creative ideas from the region.
In its Travel Trends release, VisitEngland states that the cycling market is growing 10-15 per cent per annum and will be worth over £3bn by 2015. It also claims that its own research has found that 3.8 million people are keen to go cycling while on holiday.
More information from VisitEngland is available here.
