THE subject of stag and hen parties in York continues to be a contentious issue, dividing opinion and creating debate over the best way to find a balanced way forward. Here Matt Mavir, managing director of Britain’s leading stag and hen firm, Last Night of Freedom, puts the case for industry's contribution to the York economy and life in the city as a whole.

You simply can’t stop stags and hens visiting York. Like it or not, that’s just reality.

Creating ‘zones’ to pen them in at the weekend isn’t enforceable, while making the city less appealing to visitors would merely be a case of York shooting itself in a foot.

They will keep visiting, likely in growing numbers. But the idea that they are the root cause of York’s woes is absurd.

While locals may thing the city is awash with stags and hens come Saturday, the figures paint a completely different picture.

Officially, York attracts over eight million tourists each year, injecting £765 million into the city’s coffers. Of that, we estimate that between £5-10 million comes from the pockets of stags and hens.

That’s around one per cent of York’s tourism trade – a mere fraction.

But the problem is stags and hens have become shorthand for anybody clutching a cocktail in York on a Saturday afternoon.

York City Centre is bouncing at the weekend. And so it should be. The bars are brilliant and the city is gorgeous.

But how many of these revellers are actually enjoying a pre-wedding booze up? York has long been a magnet for day drinkers before it became a hit with hens.

There will be way more people in York each weekend for the races or the footy than for a stag or hen. Similarly, board any York-bound train from Newcastle, Leeds or Scarborough on a Saturday morning and it is standing room only.

Yet no war is being waged against day drinkers or horse racing fans. Instead stags and hens are singled out as they are an easy target.

They aren’t local, they can get a bit boisterous, and their reputation proceeds them.

Except that reputation is largely based on lazy stereotypes that certainly don’t apply to the overwhelming majority of our customers.

Everyone from barristers and doctors to Premier League footballers use Last Night of Freedom. Not surprising given stags and hens come from all walks of life.

And like most people, most stags and hens don’t see a weekend in York as a chance for a historical re-enactment, marauding drunkenly through the streets like Vikings and causing chaos. They simply want a laugh and a pint with their pals.

Yet that doesn’t mean our industry is deaf to local concerns.

But as police figures recently revealed, it isn’t stags and hens keeping North Yorkshire’s bobbies busy at the weekend. Instead, you are far more likely to find stags tucked up in a Travelodge at 3am than banged up behind bars.

Stags and hens are just normal people. Teachers, nurses, street sweepers, who maybe once a year come together for a couple of days to celebrate a special time in the life of someone they care about.

And while York is becoming increasingly popular (bookings with Last Night of Freedom are up by 100% year-on-year) the city isn’t in any danger of becoming North Yorkshire’s equivalent to Benidorm.

Destinations like Liverpool and Newcastle have four or five times as many groups on any given weekend, and there are no calls to ban them there. Everyone sees the benefits they bring – propping up hundreds of hospitality jobs, keeping the hotels booked and helping the restaurants out after the dire pandemic period.

Plus the majority of customers who visit York are hens – professional and polite – who fancy something a bit more sophisticated than a 48-hour bar crawl.

York’s their preference because there’s an abundance of culture, scenery, and history. Yes, there’s Popworld – but most these groups are more likely to visit one of the city’s incredible independent venues like The Evil Eye for a cocktail.

York’s busy because it is great. It is a compliment to the city that people want to visit. And as the cost-of-living crisis intensifies, it will only become more popular with Brits struggling to fork out for flights.

And while stags and hens may only contribute a small amount to the city’s economy, if they were banished, it would suck much of the colour and vibrancy out of York – and the city could be branded as somewhere where you’re not welcomed if your face doesn’t fit.

So rather than blame the easy target – the stags and hens who are here today and gone tomorrow – everyone from the bar bosses to local politicians should embrace the vast benefits they bring the city while aiming to find a realistic middle ground that keeps everyone happy – including the locals.