Culture
Ensuring that culture is relevant and accessible to everybody in York by placing culture at the heart of our activities, from major capital developments to residents’ wellbeing – and working to ensure cultural entitlement for every child.
About Us
Make It York is a private limited company, limited by shares, with circa 40 employees and an independent Board of Directors. Our sole Shareholder is City of York Council.
In a typical year our turnover is around £4.8 million, generated commercially from a range of revenue sources and, other than any dividends payable to the shareholder, any surplus is invested back into the city.
As a company, we have four key areas of focus:
Make It York supports permanent and temporary markets, festivals, and delivers, attracts and facilitates world-class cultural and creative events that expand and positively enhance perceptions of York.
This includes, as examples, York’s status as a host city for the Rugby League World Cup and the expansion of our renowned York Ice Trail to become one of the UK’s largest outdoor events.
Events
Markets
The city has a very special independent retail and hospitality sector and Make It York is responsible for city centre management and the development of key areas of high public footfall, such as Shambles Market, which offers significant additional opportunities for development and expansion.
Our Christmas Market is regularly cited as one of the best in the UK and we continue to develop and innovate a calendar of events for the city to ensure that we offer an inclusive and accessible range of events that inspire and excite diverse audiences all year round.
Leading on the city’s tourism strategy (as part of York’s wider economic strategy) under our Visit York brand, marketing York as a must-see world-class destination to the leisure and business visitor and ensuring investment to develop the quality of tourism in York.
Our visitor economy activity covers all aspects of tourism marketing and resident engagement, including market intelligence, as well as providing business support through our membership programme.
We operate the Visit York Pass, York’s city-sightseeing card, and we run the city’s Visitor Information Centre.
Visitor Economy
Make It York
Board
Managing Director, Make It York
Chair of Pavers
Leader of City of York Council
Director of External Relations, University of York
Managing Director, York Data Services
Lyndsey Turner Swift
Head of England Action Plan, VisitEngland
Andy Kerr
Director of Economy, York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority (YNYCA)
Managing Director of Oakgate Group Plc
Commercial Director, LNER
