Press Release
Flying the flag for Durham and North East England in the USA
Durham and North East England will be showcased to more than 50 top travel buyers from across North America at a major travel trade event this week.
Visit County Durham is attending VisitBritain’s Destination Britain North America (DBNA) trade event in San Francisco, as part of its ongoing work to raise the county’s profile and strengthen relationships with key buyers in the United States.
It is the third trade event Visit County Durham has attended in the United States in the last 18 months, having also exhibited at last year’s DBNA in Washington DC and at the Manchester Gateway conference in Texas.
This year, Visit County Durham will be representing Destination North East England, part of a £2.25 million tourism pilot for the region. This new business-to-business travel brand is led by the region’s three Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (Visit County Durham, NewcastleGateshead Initiative and Visit Northumberland), plus the region’s seven local authorities.
Destination North East England is sponsoring the delegate lunch on the first day.
Visit County Durham’s managing director, Michelle Gorman, will attend networking sessions, one-to-one business appointments with buyers and seminars about the latest international travel market trends.
Michelle said: “North America is an important overseas market for Durham and North East England and is playing a vital role in driving tourism recovery across the UK. DBNA is a fantastic opportunity for us to connect with key buyers and to ensure our region stands out as a destination for tour companies, travel agents and other major influencers within the industry.
“It is an exciting time for Durham and North East England as a whole, with new tourism products being launched and ambitious developments underway at existing attractions and accommodation. I am really looking forward to sharing this news with buyers and increasing awareness of our incredible offer.”
Speaking on behalf of Destination North East England, Jen Rea, head of business events and travel trade at NewcastleGateshead Initiative, said: “DBNA is a prime opportunity to raise the North East’s profile in travel trade groups and activity in one of our target markets, North America.
“As part of Destination North East England, we are developing a cohesive and collaborative approach to winning travel trade business and Visit County Durham is playing a key role in maximising our ambitions to grow travel trade business in the region whilst at DBNA.
“We look forward to sharing the learnings and outcomes from the visit.”
Figures from VisitBritain demonstrate that North America is the UK’s largest and most valuable inbound tourism market, with US visitors spending a record-breaking £6 billion in 2022. This is an increase of 42 per cent on 2019. Canadian visitors, meanwhile, spent £934 million in the UK in 2022, up 27 per cent on 2019.