Despite a summer that many described as a washout, the number of people visiting Yorkshire and spending money here rose this year compared to previous years.

Some tourist attractions in the Bradford district say they too saw a boost in visitors, but others actually saw a fall.

Figures released yesterday by the Great British Travel Survey show that Trips to Yorkshire were up 16.3 per cent for the period between September 2011 to August 2012. They also reveal that the amount tourists spent in the area increased by 13.5 per cent, and overnight stays were up 11.5 per cent during the same period.

The statistics follow a series of major national marketing campaigns launched by tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire to increase visitors and help grow the economy during the tough economic climate and a wet summer. These included promoting the county to the millions of people who visited London for the summer’s Olympic and Paralympic games.

In one such campaign, every ticket barrier at London’s King’s Cross station was branded with ‘Welcome to Yorkshire’ ahead of the Olympics. A national ‘Have a Brilliant Yorkshire’ television ad campaign and product placement promoting the county in Emmerdale are also factors.

Also boosting Yorkshire’s profile was the success of the county’s Olympians. Welcome to Yorkshire produced a medal map for the county during the Olympics, showing where local medal winners were from and encouraging people to visit.

They were not short of locations and success stories – if Yorkshire was a country it would have ranked 12th in the Olympic medal table.

Welcome to Yorkshire, which this year faced cut in Government funding, is now up for two tourism Oscars at the World Travel Awards on Wednesday, for World’s Leading Marketing Campaign and World’s Leading Tourist Board.

The Media Museum in Bradford is one of the attractions that has benefited from the boost in tourism.

For the first half of 2012 the museum saw a nine per cent increase in total visitors. Many flocked to half term events, and the museum’s role in the Cultural Olympiad – the Blink of an Eye photography exhibition that included images of the Games’ stars.

Jim Shipley, of the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, said the heritage line also saw better than average visitor numbers.

He said: “ We don’t have concrete figures, but we’ve noticed a rise in midweek visitors. These numbers were significantly up, weekend traffic was variable but overall I think the visitors were up on last year.”

He said the railway had numerous offers to attract more tourists during the week, adding: “You have to give people a reason to come rather than just rely on them wanting to ride the train.”

However, the Bronte Parsonage museum, one of Yorkshire’s biggest attractions, saw a three per cent fall in visitor numbers during the same period, with no apparent Olympic boost.