YORK’S Viking roots is still proving a major draw for tourists nearly a thousand years after the Norsemen left the ancient settlement.

The Jorvik Viking Centre has announced it has welcomed 420,000 visitors in the 12 months since the re-imagined attraction reopened to the public.

“This has been a remarkable year – we’d set ourselves a target of increasing visitors numbers to JORVIK Viking Centre by over 30 per cent since reopening, and we’re delighted to have achieved significantly more – and we are on track to hit our two-year target of 500,000 visitors to JORVIK alone by this time next year,” said director of attractions, Sarah Maltby.

“The ride is now slightly slower, which we were aware would have an impact on our peak capacity, but the more spacious galleries enable visitors to spend more time looking at artefacts recovered on site, as well as touring exhibitions from the British Museum and Ashmolean Museum.”

Research commissioned during York’s Year of the Vikings shows that Jorvik Viking Centre brings in at least £18 million to the local economy, based on the spend of visitors who are attracted by the city’s Norse heritage.