1. 2026 Marketing campaigns
2026 will be another year filled with high impact destination marketing campaigns. You’ll be seeing more of our “There’s More to North Yorkshire” campaign with opportunities for your business to feature. We’ll be putting a spotlight on the county’s amazing food & drink, continuing to celebrate North Yorkshire’s starring role in films and TV series, including maximising on 2026 releases, Wuthering Heights and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and we’ll wrap it all up with our annual Christmas campaign, positioning North Yorkshire as the perfect festive destination.
To find out more including how to get involved, check out our 2026 Opportunities Pack.
2. Events not to be missed
We are excited to be hosting two events in the first half of 2026, aimed at celebrating the great work of the tourism sector. The first is an ambassadors event to celebrate our amazing colleagues working in our Tourist Information Centres across York & North Yorkshire. Held at Ampleforth Abbey on Thursday 26 February, the day will include presentations, networking opportunities and recognition of the important part that Tourist Information plays as ambassadors for our destination.
The second is, Tourism on Track, taking place at the historic Bolton Abbey Station on the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway on Thursday 19 March, during English Tourism Week (13 – 22 March), the event invites attractions, accommodation providers, and tourism businesses from across the county to climb aboard to celebrate the start of a busy season for the visitor economy, including a literature exchange.
We are also delighted to be working together with The Hospitality Junior Board CIC to support Hospitality: The Leaders of Tomorrow, a brand-new event for the region designed to help shape the future of hospitality. The event, taking place on Monday 23 March at Rudding Park in Harrogate, will bring together young people working in hospitality and tourism for a day of learning, inspiration, and connection.
3. Showcasing North Yorkshire to the world
In 2026, Visit North Yorkshire will continue to showcase North Yorkshire to the world through attendance and representation at a series of trade and consumer shows and exhibitions both individually and as part of the York & North Yorkshire LVEP. These events and shows are aimed at a variety of audiences from domestic and international consumers, national and international media and content creators to travel trade including tour operators, travel agencies, and organisations that promote and sell travel.
Under the Meet North Yorkshire brand, we will also attend shows aimed at event organisers to attract large-scale events, conferences, and meetings to North Yorkshire.
There are opportunities for partners to join us at some of the events. To find out which events we will be attending in 2026 go to: Shows and Events – Visit North Yorkshire Business & Industry
4. A big anniversary for Scarborough
In 2026, Scarborough will celebrate a major milestone: Scarborough 400, marking four centuries since the town’s transformation into a spa destination. In 1626 Thomasin Farrer discovered mineral springs beneath the cliffs near to the Scarborough Spa, which was an event that helped shape Scarborough into the much‑loved seaside resort it is today.
Anniversaries such as this give us an opportunity to put a spotlight on the wonderful places that make North Yorkshire a must-visit destination. Throughout the year, we’ll be driving media interest, welcoming press visits, and promoting the events and activities planned to mark the occasion.
If you’re a business in Scarborough or along the coast and you’re planning an event or simply want to be part of the celebrations, we’ll be sharing a dedicated toolkit soon to help you get involved.
5. A new Restaurant Week on the menu
We are working with the Howardian Hills National Landscape to serve up the first Restaurant Week for Helmsley, the Howardian Hills and the surrounding areas. Taking place between 23 February – 1 March, the week provides the opportunity for restaurants, cafes and bars to attract residents and visitors to try out somewhere new to eat, at an affordable price, whilst showcasing their use of local North Yorkshire produce. The Restaurant Week has been introduced for this area following Helmsley & the Howardian Hills being named the Most Exciting Food Destination in 2024 by the Good Food Guide.
The second Whitby Restaurant Week is also set to run from 2 – 8 March following the success of the first one in 2025.
You can find out more about Restaurant Weeks and how to get involved at: North Yorkshire Restaurant Weeks – Visit North Yorkshire Business & Industry
Make sure you keep up to date with everything we are working on and how you can get involved by subscribing to our industry newsletter and following us on LinkedIn.
