Destination management organisation
Welcome to Visit County Durham - the tourism management agency for County Durham which works on behalf of businesses and public agencies to support the growth and development of the county's visitor economy.
Visit County Durham has strategic responsibility for tourism and performs the functions of destination management and marketing in the county. Many others are involved in delivering a vibrant visitor economy, one organisation cannot do it alone, which is why we are a partnership.
Our aim is to place the visitor at the heart of everything we do.
Destination performance
11.4m
(Visitors Annually)
4m
(70 attractions)
6%
(Overnight Stays)
6,794
(Jobs within the industry)
£507m
(Annual Income)
Latest news
Flower Festival to pay tribute to County Durham’s people, places and past
17 Aug 2022
Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens is to host a flower festival celebrating County Durham’s heritage, culture, people and places. Ushaw Flower Fest, will see the 214-year-old Georgian house transform into a floral walking tour that tells rich stories from Durham’s past and present, including mining disasters, community campaigns and the deeds of inspiring women. […]
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Summer’s sorted, with affordable fun for all the family at Ushaw
10 Aug 2022
As we reach the halfway point of the school summer holidays, you’d be forgiven for running somewhat short of ideas to keep the kids entertained. With the cost of living crisis biting, parents up and down the country are on the lookout for ways to make the holidays fun without breaking the bank, and one […]
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Visitors enjoy a taste of the seaside at Seaham Food Festival
8 Aug 2022
Food-lovers from across the region flocked to Durham’s coastline for two days of festival fun. The sun was shining across the weekend for Seaham Food Festival, which saw over 100 traders set up shop to sell everything from mouth-watering street food to delicious cakes and sweet treats. The Durham County Council-run event attracted thousands of […]
Read More about Visitors enjoy a taste of the seaside at Seaham Food FestivalSuppliers to industry
Arty, Inc
Gavin Selby - Creative Designer, Photographer and Filmmaker. Gavin has over 18 years experience within the creative arts and is highly passionate about Graphic Design, Photography, Filmmaking, Video Editing and Animation. Trading under the name Arty, Inc. he works closely with local businesses, authorities and groups to create bespoke content for their online presence (Social Media and search […]
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Castle Bank Butchers Stanhope
Jim Higginson opened his first shop at 3 Castle Bank, Tow Law, County Durham on Monday 4th September 1978 and in the years since has expanded the company to the six outlets that form Castle Bank Butchers today. We first branched out from our Tow Law outlet in the early 1980s to the picturesque Weardale town […]
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RIP Gin & Markets at South Causey Inn
The gin revolution is here! Gin has certainly made a comeback and South Causey Inn has its own gin distillery with Our signature “Rip” Gin. Our history with gin shows our love of it but its rise in popularity is linked to our love of cocktails too. Gin is a great base for cocktails due to its […]
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Towergate Insurance Brokers
Towergate have been insuring businesses in the North East of England since 1973. With our expertise in the Leisure and Hospitality Sectors, we have been offering both packaged and bespoke risk management and insurance solutions to businesses of all sizes for decades. Whatever your business, it is essential to carry out a periodic review of […]
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Visit County Durham latest
Tourism Sentiment Score
The Tourism Sentiment Score is a measure of a destination’s ability to generate positive word of mouth about its tourism offer, which is vitally important when growing the image, identity and reputation of a place. The score is based solely on online conversations that reference or affect a potential traveller’s perceptions of a destination, with […]
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Be Part of VisitBritain's International Marketing Campaign
Download their industry toolkit to see how you can get involved and be part of our campaign to highlight your business or destination to international consumers. What do I get? Join a movement to inspire and welcome visitors back to Britain A chance to highlight your business or destination to consumers with the potential to […]
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US travel trade mission
In partnership with Marketing Manchester and Avanti Destinations, Visit County Durham is visiting Texas next week as part of the Manchester Gateway Project. We will be meeting with over 150 US travel trade, travel agents and travel media across the week, with the aim of increasing awareness of Durham as a holiday destination and using Manchester […]
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Durham security office scoops tourism superstar award
Durham has crowned its first Tourism Superstar in three years, following a hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Connor Turnbull, a security officer at Dalton Park Outlet Shopping Destination, has been crowned Durham Tourism Superstar 2022 thanks to his excellent customer service, volunteering experience and tenacious attitude to tourism. Richard Kaye, centre manager at Dalton […]
Read More about Durham security office scoops tourism superstar awardSocial wall
We have an extensive library of Tourism Business Support Toolkits to help you grow your business or think about accessing new markets.
Check them out here: http://tinyurl.com/222tss2c
Durham Book Festival returns this October with headline guests including LJ Ross, Jeremy Vine, Fiona Hill, Richard O'Neill and the announcement of the Gordon Burn Prize.
Between 13 and 16 October 2022, the festival returns to Durham's Millennium Place, illuminating the Gala ...Theatre and Clayport Library with leading writers, artists and thinkers.
Find out more here 👇
https://tinyurl.com/43w9jcya
Ushaw Historic House, Chapels & Gardens is to host a flower festival celebrating County Durham’s heritage, culture, people and places.
Ushaw Flower Fest, will see the 214-year-old Georgian house transform into a floral walking tour that tells rich stories from Durham’s past and ...present, including mining disasters, community campaigns and the deeds of inspiring women.
Be sure to tell your visitors about the Flower Fest which runs from September 9-11.
Find out more here 👇
https://tinyurl.com/44vwh368
Businesses can request copies of the latest edition of the Durham Pocket Guide, free of charge, to make available to their customers.
Copies of the county’s official tourism publication will be distributed throughout the region, playing an important role in inspiring visitors and residents, ...by providing information on things to see and do, and places to eat.
Request your copies by emailing 👇
visitor@thisisdurham.com
Supplier Partner Grape Software Limited is an innovative food technology company aiming to transform food hygiene inspections in the UK.
Their software, Grape Prepare is a purpose built inspection readiness tool, designed to help food businesses prepare for inspections and achieve a high ...hygiene rating.
Find out how they could help your business here 👇
https://tinyurl.com/42ssxv5a
Our @ThisisDurham Week Ahead is a valuable tool to let your visitors know what's going on in Durham.
The Week Ahead is updated and available for download every Monday here: http://bit.ly/36ixi9k
Want to list an event? Submit your info here: http://bit.ly/3jt1YaK
Visit County Durham's Northern Saints Trails Passport encourages walkers to seek out locations along the Northern Saints routes to obtain stamps as a record of their visit.
Marketing activity promotes participating businesses, driving footfall to those taking part.
Get in touch to... find out more about stocking or participating in the passport here 👇
Craig.Wilson@visitcountydurham.org
Let your visitors know about Ushaw Historic House, Chapels & Gardens new Hi-Tech Heritage Trail.
The idea of a state-of-the-art heritage trail was sparked by the Covid pandemic when Ushaw‘s buildings had to close and only its gardens remained open to the public.
Find out ...more here 👇
https://tinyurl.com/yc7rnh3c
Want to learn how to create a simple yet effective marketing strategy? 🖥️📱
Join WE ARE UMi on the 23rd August for the virtual UMi Makes It Easy... To Create Your Digital Marketing Strategy event, hosted by Anna Short from Boo Marketing!
Register here: https://tinyurl.com/2s38puf9