Media Room
Latest News
All the latest news from the Industry and the Visit County Durham Grapevine newsletter.


North East awarded funding to promote the region’s experiences to international visitors
25 Jan 2023
The North East has been awarded a grant from VisitBritain’s GREAT Gateway Innovation Fund to market and promote regional experiences to inbound visitors from the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC). Working in collaboration with local industry, NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI) will develop an...
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Single-use plastics
25 Jan 2023
A ban on a range of polluting single-use plastics will be introduced in England from October 2023. The ban will include single-use plastic plates, trays, bowls, cutlery, balloon sticks, and certain types of polystyrene cups and food containers. One solution to help businesses move away from single...
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Energy support guide
25 Jan 2023
KHospitality has made its information and guidance on energy support available to non-members to help businesses during the cost of living crisis. Resources include an energy bill calculator and a Q&A information sheet. The information and guidance was previously available to UKHospitality...
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Mental health at work
25 Jan 2023
As an employer, there are ways you can offer support to your staff through the cost of living crisis. Curated by Mind, The Mental Health at Work toolkit includes resources designed to help you and your employees with support through financial difficulties.
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Cost of living resource
25 Jan 2023
The North East Chamber of Commerce has launched a cost of living resource to help individuals and businesses get help and advice during these challenging economic times. The website uses expert knowledge to provide practical advice and tools on how to weather the tough economic headwinds, and...
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Brilliant 2023
18 Jan 2023
Applications for the BRILLIANT artwork commissioning scheme are now open. This is your chance to become a Lumiere Durham artist in 2023! Be part of the bold and ambitious Lumiere programme, part of Durham County Culture. You don't need to be a practising artist or have any previous experience to...
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Plan Ahead!
18 Jan 2023
There's a lot going on across County Durham in 2023 which can be used in your own marketing activity and give your customers a reason to visit and perhaps stay longer. From Fire & Ice to Wolsingham Show, and of course, the return of Lumiere, check out the events happening over the coming year....
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Save the Date
18 Jan 2023
Seaham Food Festival returns Saturday 5th to Sunday 6th August 2023 and trader applications are now open. As one of the region's biggest food festivals, each year the event is host to hundreds of independent stalls selling everything from sensational street food and delicious desserts to refreshing...
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Tourism Awards Ceremony
18 Jan 2023
The 2023 North East England Tourism Awards ceremony will take place at Newcastle Civic Centre on Thursday 23rd March 2023. This year the event will be hosted by Radio Pride presenter Ophelia B. The glittering evening is built entirely around celebrating the success of the finalists, who represent...
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Save the Date
12 Jan 2023
Save the date for English Tourism Week: Friday 17th to Sunday 26th March 2023. ETW highlights the importance, value and vast contribution the sector makes to the UK economy. The week provides an essential opportunity to raise the awareness of the visitor economy to key stakeholders - in 2019,...
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Inbound Tourism Forecast
12 Jan 2023
VisitBritain has published the 2023 forecast for inbound visits and spend which shows that spending by international visitors in the UK is forecast to reach £29.5 billion, up 4% on the all-time spending high of £28.4 billion in 2019. Overseas visits to the UK are predicted to rise to 35.1...
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Durham Pocket Guide 2023
12 Jan 2023
Work is now underway in conjunction with our publishing partner, Offstone, to create the 2023 edition of the Durham Pocket Guide, with Visit County Durham partners able to benefit from exclusive discounted rates. 125,000 copies will be distributed across the region from early May, encouraging...
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Devolution deal for North East
12 Jan 2023
Plans to bring billions of pounds and more power to North East England have been outlined by the Government. The new deal, which is subject to a governance review and public consultation, offers a potential £4.2 billion of investment and would see the formation of a new combined authority, headed...
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The Year in Search
21 Dec 2022
Throughout 2022 significant events continued to impact the county's visitor economy, from the lifting of final Covid restrictions to the cost-of-living crisis. Find out how these events, and more, affected what consumers were searching for on thisisdurham.com, the county’s official tourism...
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A66 update
19 Dec 2022
National Highways has issued a December update for the A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project. It includes information about the milestones the team have reached over the last few months as well as what will be happening next year. If planning is approved, the project will start in 2024 and will dual...
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