The Bank Holiday sunshine brought thousands of day trippers out to the countryside to give some respite to the district's beleagured tourist industry.

Visitors flocked in their thousands to Ilkley and Skipton.

More than 20,000 people are thought to have made their way to East Holme Fields in Ilkley for the town's Carnival, while in Skipton the High Street was packed with day visitors. Traders said they had had some of the best trade in months.

Haworth also saw a surge in visitors, although traders reported it less busy than on a normal May Day bank holiday.

But walkers continued to stay away from the district over the Bank Holiday weekend, despite the lifting of foot and mouth restrictions on some footpaths.

Many hotels and guest houses were empty on what would normally have been one of their busiest weekends of the year.

Linda Harrison, owner of the Ashfield House Hotel in Grassington, said footpaths in Wharfedale were open but there were not long enough routes to attract serious ramblers.

"Walkers who usually come in the summer months aren't coming," she said. "People may walk the coastal paths instead and decided they like them and won't come back to us. Many simply don't know whether footpaths are open or not at the moment."

Despite the lifting of restrictions on some paths in Skipton, Langcliffe, Gargrave, Bolton Abbey and Bentham, Ilkley Moor remained closed to walkers and the White Wells Spa tourist attraction at the edge of the moors also stayed shut. Lisa Bisby, assistant manageress of the Cow and Calf Hotel on Ilkley Moor, said the usual Saturday afternoon ramblers who called in for a drink had vanished.

A number of hotels in Skipton, Grassington and Ilkley reported cancellations and many said they had no bookings for July and August.

Elaine Glover, part-owner of the Corncrake Hotel in Cracoe, near Skipton, said the lifting the restrictions could not come soon enough.

"When people come here it's a walking break they want," she said. "We rely on passing trade and have no guests at all at the moment and had none over Easter. Our four rooms would normally be full on a May Day weekend."

Confusion followed the Government's announcement of a £3.8million hand out to help open up footpaths the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Craven District Council will also receive £33,000 from a new Rights of Way Recovery fund to help pay for the extra work and staff needed to re-open the routes.

A limited number of footpaths and bridleways in the Dales have now been opened.

Yorkshire Dales National Park press officer, Andrew Osbourne, said the footpath risk assessment was very detailed and paths could only be opened if they met certain criteria.