Will Christmas market 'rest day' be detrimental for traders?

As traders set up their festive stalls for the York Christmas markets, excitement is in the air.

2026 is the first year the market will be paused on Tuesdays to give the city a "rest day" from the bustle of the notoriously busy event.

For some stallholders, this will give staff a welcome break, but others fear a six-day week will have a "detrimental" impact on trade and turn York into a "ghost town" on Tuesdays.

The idea is being trialled by City of York Council, in a bid to improve accessibility for residents and allow Blue Badge holders to park in the city centre during the event.

Rob Collins, from Herbie's, will be offering stacked hot chocolates and festive tipples at his stalls from 12 November.

"We spend six weeks of the year at the Christmas market and the rest of the year getting ready for it," he laughs.

"It's the choice we make and we love it."

Banking on the markets to bring in all of his trade, Collins says the closure day is "disappointing".

"The market is amazing, but when it closes, it becomes a ghost town," he explains.

"A lot of the local cafes are going to have their rest day on that day because it's not going to be worth it.

"It's going to have a massive detrimental effect on the entire city."

As a result of the trialled closure day, Collins admits he had to lay off a few staff in the run-up to market season.

"It has had a massive knock-on effect for our supplies, everything," he adds.

Jennie Palmer, from foodie gift stall Charlie and Ivy's, describes Christmas as a "really important time" for the business, though she trades throughout the year.

The markets in York are an opportunity for them to meet their customers and attract new ones from all over the country.

Palmer is willing to see how the closure day "works out" and has mixed feelings on the decision.

"I think, for us, it's quite a nice time for the team," she explains.

"We're really busy with our online sales back at HQ anyway, so it gives us a bit of a breather to restock and kind of get ourselves gathered up again.

"I think my only concern is that maybe people will come on a Tuesday and expect it to be here, but hopefully they'll be here for a few days and they can still make the most of another day."

Rupert Harrison has been bringing his hand-knitted woollens from Nepal to the markets for 30 years.

For his business model at Black Yak, he says the Christmas markets in York are "absolutely vital" and "indispensable".

"We are aimed at a Christmas winter market, that's what we do," Harrison adds.

"At other markets, you will tend to get the same customers, so you have to change the stalls over.

"York being a nice tourist town, you can have the same stalls, but you just change the customers over."

At a meeting earlier in the year, the council's development lead, Garry Taylor, said the closure measures would allow the city centre to run as normal one day per week and allow access for disabled people.

But he warned the estimated loss of spending in the city centre could be between £2.6m and £7.8m.

Claire Douglas, the council's Labour leader, told the BBC: "I foresee that we're just going to see a bit of a different nature to that day over the six-week period.

"It's a test, we'll see how it goes, but I'm really optimistic about it, as are many residents that I speak to around the city."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the city's Business Improvement District (BID) will monitor the economic impact of the rest day amid concerns from traders.

Findings from the survey will be shared in February and would influence decisions about future markets.

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.