Industry News

I am delighted to say that despite quite a few recent rainy days the sun has finally made an appearance and it is beginning to feel like summer.

The warmer months are incredibly important to the tourism industry, with amazing places to stay and so much to see and do in Durham let's hope there are plenty more bright days to come.

It has been a busy start to 2024 and the pace of progress shows no sign of slowing down with major investment continuing at attractions and accommodation across the county.

Spring was most definitely the season of new beginnings as a number of exciting developments were completed. At Raby Estates, The Rising has opened featuring reimagined walled gardens, restored heritage buildings and the Vinery Cafe Restaurant. In addition, the New Hall at Locomotion has created the largest collection of historic rail vehicles, under cover and on site, anywhere in the world.

It doesn't stop there - June saw the opening of The Story at Mount Oswald and at Beamish The Living Museum of the North, the 1950s Town saw further exhibits open their door, including the much-anticipated cinema. These new attractions along with the Spanish Gallery and Faith Museum, part of The Auckland Project, and others, have added to our already fantastic visitor offer.

As we celebrate new developments, we must also commend all of our visitor economy partners, that have helped us achieve a major economic boost. The latest STEAM results show that the county builds on its bumper £1bn milestone achieved in 2022.

Visitor expenditure rose by 18.8% in 2023, with the value of the county's visitor economy hitting £1.2bn. Overall, 20.15 million people visited the county last year, an increase of 12.5%.

The number of people employed in the sector has also grown, up by 12.4% to 13,178 jobs. It is welcome news as visitor numbers and employment have now exceeded pre-pandemic figures for the first time.

As we head into the main tourism season, we would like to remind you to review your listing on thisisdurham.com to ensure it is as strong as possible.

Please take a look at our website to find out how you can get involved with our summer staycation and thematic marketing activity.

On behalf of Visit County Durham, I would like to wish you a succesful summer.

Best wishes,
Michelle