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

Durham’s visitor economy hits £1 billion milestone

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Collaboration makes for memorable marketing campaign

Visit County Durham

Collaboration makes for memorable marketing campaign

31 Jan 2023

Visit County Durham has joined forces with a leading influencer marketing agency for a campaign that is positioning Durham as the place to go to make memories.

North East awarded funding to promote the region’s experiences to international visitors

Visit County Durham

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...

Visit County Durham

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...

Visit County Durham

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...

Visit County Durham

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,...

Visit County Durham

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...

Visit County Durham

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...

Visit County Durham

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...

Visit County Durham

Awards success!

19 Dec 2022

Last week, the Northern Echo County Durham Together Awards, held in partnership with Durham County Council, took place at Ramside Hall. Visit County Durham sponsored the Visitor Economy Award which recognises an individual, organisation or business who has played a vital role in promoting the...

Visit County Durham

Campaign update

19 Dec 2022

As part of the Memorable Moments destination marketing campaign, Visit County Durham commissioned and hosted three award-winning influencers to create videos showcasing their own memorable moments in the county, covering heritage, outdoors, family fun and culture. The videos are a great promotional...

Visit County Durham

Closing date reminder

7 Dec 2022

A reminder that trader applications for Bishop Auckland Food Festival are open until January 10th 2023. Spaces are limited and some categories are very busy. The food festival will return to the town's Market Place on Saturday 22nd April and Sunday 23th April 2023.

Visit County Durham

Tourism Sentiment Report

7 Dec 2022

The Visit County Durham commissioned Tourism Sentiment report for November is now available, providing valuable insights for the county's tourism businesses. The score measures Durham's ability to generate positive word of mouth about our tourism offer through online conversations. This month, the...

£2.25 million boost for the region’s tourism industry as North East announced as the first ever Destination Development Partnership pilot in England

Visit County Durham

£2.25 million boost for the region’s tourism industry as North East announced as the first ever Destination Development Partnership pilot in England

25 Nov 2022

The North East has been chosen for the first regional tourism pilot receiving £2.25 million from national government covering a period to March 2025. ‘The partnership will see Visit County Durham working alongside NewcastleGateshead Initiative and VisitNorthumberland, on behalf of the...

Visit County Durham

Tourism Superstar

23 Nov 2022

2023 will be the 11th year for VisitEngland's Tourism Superstar competition which recognises the dedication and passion of those working in the tourism industry. Run in partnership with the Mirror newspaper, the campaign recognises and celebrates those in the industry who go the extra mile to...

Visit County Durham

VE Occupancy data

23 Nov 2022

VisitEngland has published September's serviced accommodation occupancy report. Every month, the England Occupancy Survey (EOS) measures bedroom and bedspace occupancy across the serviced accommodation sector, including mostly hotels, with a very small proportion of serviced apartments and larger...