Media Room

Latest News

All the latest news from the Industry and the Visit County Durham Grapevine newsletter.

Filter News

All Visit County Durham Industry

Filter results by date:

From Date:

Format: 29-12-2023

To Date:

Format: 30-12-2023

Industry

Hotel Indigo Durham celebrates fifth birthday

24 Mar 2023

The last five years have seen Hotel Indigo breathe new life into one of the Durham City’s iconic buildings, win awards and overcome a global pandemic. Once known as the old shire hall, the hotel building was built in the 1890s for Durham County Council and became an iconic feature in the city’s...

Industry

Restoration works to begin at Killhope Lead Mining Museum

24 Mar 2023

Works to restore a popular museum in County Durham are set to be carried out this year. Durham County Council has received funding from Arts Council England’s Museum Estate and Development Fund for restorative and heritage protection works at Killhope Lead Mining Museum. Part of the museum site...

Visit County Durham

A message from Visit County Durham's managing director, Michelle Gorman

24 Mar 2023

Visit County Durham is proud to be supporting English Tourism Week (17-26 March), which provides an important platform to showcase the amazing businesses, experiences and people that are part of the county's visitor economy, which is worth £827m annually and supports over 10,000 jobs. It is an...

Industry

National Hotel Marketing Conference

22 Mar 2023

All VCD Partners are able to access special rates (saving £50) to attend this year's National Hotel Marketing Conference, which takes place on Thursday 27th April at the Hilton at St George's Park, the English FA Centre of Excellence in Staffordshire. The conference programme and 30 top speakers...

Industry

First stage of historic walled garden remodelling nearing completion at Raby Castle

21 Mar 2023

The first stage of a redesign of Raby’s historic Walled Garden is nearing completion, which will see the launch of a grass amphitheatre this summer - the first of its kind in the north of England. A very special element of the Estate’s ambitious development programme known as ‘The Rising’,...

Industry

On track for continued customer growth as LNER leads the way

17 Mar 2023

London North Eastern Railway (LNER) continues to lead the way when it comes to passenger growth and usage, topping the table for franchised operators for the seventh consecutive quarter. Between October and December 2022, passenger journeys were at 96 per cent when compared with the same period for...

Industry

1950s cinema and shops underway at Beamish Museum

17 Mar 2023

Work is beginning on a cinema, toy shop and electrical shop in Beamish, The Living Museum of the North’s 1950s Town. The museum is recreating The Grand Cinema from Ryhope in Sunderland, where visitors will be able to enjoy a 1950s cinema experience. A toy shop named after the popular Romer...

Industry

Share your views

8 Mar 2023

Visit County Durham Supplier Partner Rural Business Network and National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise have been commissioned by Durham County Council to find out the needs and opportunities for rural businesses across the county to help shape future investment plans. They are holding a...

Visit County Durham

ITB Berlin

8 Mar 2023

This week, Visit County Durham is attending the annual three day ITB Berlin, the world's leading travel trade event, to showcase the county to tour operators and travel agents from target overseas markets. The event attracts 160,000 visitors over the three days and Visit County Durham's presence...

Visit County Durham

ExploreGB

1 Mar 2023

Visit County Durham is attending ExploreGB this week - VisitBritain's flagship international travel trade event. With one-to-one appointments with tour operators and travel agencies in the county's key inbound tourism markets, the event allows us to showcase what Durham has to offer.

Visit County Durham

English Tourism Week

1 Mar 2023

English Tourism Week (ETW) gets underway from Friday 17th March to Sunday 26th March. ETW increases awareness amongst domestic and overseas visitors of the value and quality of the English tourism offer and encourages domestic travel. Celebrate the amazing people, businesses and destinations in...

Visit County Durham

Durham City hosts UK launch of innovative litter app

27 Feb 2023

A mobile app that rewards residents and visitors for picking up litter has been launched in Durham City today (Friday 24 February) as part of the county’s commitment to becoming a sustainable destination.

Industry

Delve into history at The Auckland Project

23 Feb 2023

The Auckland Project’s attractions reopen this week, offering visitors the opportunity to delve into the fascinating and often surprising history of Bishop Auckland. Visitors can look forward to a varied programme of events throughout the year, including exhibitions in the Mining Art Gallery...

Visit County Durham

North East tourism organisations become first in England to be recognised with new national status

22 Feb 2023

Regional bodies leading on the promotion, marketing and development of the North East’s visitor economy are the first to be recognised by VisitEngland in a government programme to establish a new structure for the tourism industry. NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI), Visit County Durham, part of...

Industry

Back on Track - Railway line from Bishop Auckland to Stanhope to reopen this spring

10 Feb 2023

The railway line from Bishop Auckland to Stanhope will reopen this spring for the first time in three years, thanks to an extensive restoration programme carried out by The Auckland Project. The Auckland Project acquired the 16-mile stretch of railway in January 2020 and has since been working to...