All aboard for new sightseeing tours
SIGHTSEEING bus and boat tours have been launched in a Yorkshire city which each year attracts 14m visitors to help boost the region’s economy even further.
Official tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire has organised the new venture as part of its campaign to make Yorkshire a leading centre for the tourism industry.
Guests of honour were yesterday given rides on both the double decker bus and boat tours to experience the initiative for themselves.
The bus tour takes passengers past a number of landmarks with an accompanying audio commentary pointing out items of interest.
The distinctive open top double-decker bus will offer a ‘hop on, hop off’ sightseeing service across a five mile route.
The route will take in such sights as Millennium Square, the Corn Exchange and the Victoria Quarter.
The Leeds City Cruises boat will take visitors along Leeds’ waterways historical route from Clarence Dock to Brewery Wharf and onto Granary Wharf.
Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “This is a great opportunity for Leeds to showcase our visitor attractions and highlight the fascinating history of the city. It will also allow visitors easier access to these attractions around the city centre.
“The cruise is fantastic for visitors to explore Leeds’ waterways; recently regenerated to highlight its historic splendour.”
Yorkshire artist Ashley Jackson took the boat and bus tour and welcomed the initiative.
“This is a credit to Yorkshire,” he said. “The canal and river are an artist’s paradise. I think people have been hit by the recession and this is a chance for them to say ‘let’s go out on the river’ and what Welcome to Yorkshire is doing is encouraging visitors and showing what we’ve got on our doorstep.”
The bus stops at 12 sightseeing stops across the city. Visitors can “hop-on and hop-off” at each stop to explore throughout the day.
The bus will run six times each day from May 22 until September 26 and the Leeds City Cruises will run every weekend over the same period, and every day throughout August.
Tickets for Leeds City Sightseeing Bus will be £7.50 for an adult, £3.75 for children, concessions for students and seniors will be £5.50 and a family ticket will be £17.00.
Tickets for Leeds City Cruises will be £3.00 for an adult, £1.50 for children, concessions for students and seniors will be £2.00 and a family ticket will be £6.50.
