YORKSHIRE is celebrating the Chinese New Year today after it reported a large increase in the number of Chinese visitors to the county.

Almost 20,000 visitors from China enjoyed a break in Yorkshire in 2016, up from 9,000 people four years before, in research by Visit Britain.

According to another study, the Chinese have a positive opinion of Britain, ranking it fourth overall compared to 49 other nations.

Sir Gary Verity (pictured left), chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “China is fast becoming the biggest force in world tourism and we’re delighted to see a huge increase in visits to this part of the world.

“All the signs are that those numbers will rise even further as we await the final figures for 2017 which we believe will show a further upward trend.

“We’re very much looking forward to another great year welcoming people from China.”