Social media blamed for Yorkshire Dales visitor surge

Viral social media posts have been blamed for parts of a national park being inundated with visitors.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park saw a huge surge in visitors during Covid - leading to complaints about litter, traffic and anti-social behaviour.

Councillor Richard Foster, leader of Craven District Council, said "most of the problems" had been caused by TikTok and YouTube videos.

In one example, he said a TikTok post led to the tiny picturesque village of Burnsall being swamped with visitors, some from as far away as Brighton and Bournemouth.

"Threshfield Quarry is [another] prime example - an influencer posted 'come to the blue lagoon' and next thing you know everybody is turning up," he said.

"We have got a big problem as people have now found the Dales and want to go to the honeypot locations," he told a council meeting.

His comments come after the authority carried out a review into the impact of tourism, which recommended the introduction of more litter bins and park rangers, and better engagement with parish councils, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Settle and Ribblebanks councillor David Staveley, who led the review, said while tourism was "a key part of the economy", it needed to be better managed.

He said litter was a particular problem for parish councils, which were "picking up the tab" because of the national park authority's no bins policy.

"This aspiration that visitors will take their litter home with them is for the birds - it is not what is happening," he said.

The park authority previously said it believed "bins attract more litter, and visitors should be encouraged to take their litter home with them".

Chief Executive David Butterworth also hit back at claims that there "doesn't appear to be any coordination" between the authority and event organisers for attractions such as the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge.

He said the claims were "simply incorrect".

Tens of thousands of people tackle Yorkshire's highest peaks - Pen-y-ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside - every year.

Earlier this year, park officials issued a warning after incidents of rocks being removed from drystone walls and hillsides to spell out names for selfies.

Shortly after the first lockdown, the park authority also published advice for first-time visitors.