YORK, Britain, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- More and more Chinese are visiting York, a historically walled city in north England, making China the second largest source of foreign visitors to York, a York public relations official told Xinhua in a recent interview.
Kay Hyde, head of public relations and corporate communications of VisitYork, said she believes that "China will overtake the United States" in a few years.
The United States is York's top source market and has been for more than 10 years.
Chinese visitors to York totalled 23,000 in 2017, an increase of 10,000 over the previous year, she said.
York is Britain's biggest growing market in terms of volume, with 14 percent from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), she said.
China is the most valuable market in the UK for international expenditure, with a worldwide spending of 261 billion U.S. dollars in 2016, she said.
"A new direct flight from Beijing to Manchester with Hainan Airlines has helped increase visit numbers," she said.
York signed a sister city agreement with Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province, in 2016.
York, a city in North Yorkshire, England, boasts York Minster, one of the world's most magnificent cathedrals, and a variety of cultural and sporting activities which make the city a popular tourist destination.
The city was founded by the Romans in 71 AD. In the Middle Ages, York grew as a major wool trading center, and in the 19th century, it became a hub of the railway network and a confectionery manufacturing center. The economy of York is now dominated by services.
