Media Room
Latest News
All the latest news from the Industry and the Visit County Durham Grapevine newsletter.
The Bowes Museum’s massive Canalettos has gone on show in a prestigious international touring exhibition that connects Durham and Japan.
13 Aug 2024
Regatta on the Grand Canal, Venice will return to the Museum in summer 2025. One of The Bowes Museum’s most loved and best-known paintings has gone on view in a prestigious international touring exhibition in Japan alongside others from galleries and museums around the UK. Regatta on the...
Read More about The Bowes Museum’s massive Canalettos has gone on show in a prestigious international touring exhibition that connects Durham and Japan.Latest group of Welcome to Durham ambassadors created
8 Aug 2024
Visit County Durham has recently created its latest group of Durham Ambassadors after they completed the popular Welcome to Durham qualification. During the one-day course, which took place in June at The Oriental Museum in Durham City, the group looked at a whole host of skills that are essential...
Read More about Latest group of Welcome to Durham ambassadors createdDurham Fringe Festival sees record visitor numbers over five days
6 Aug 2024
Durham Fringe Festival 2024, with its distinctive stretch-tent marquee and mobile box office on Palace Green, has drawn to a close with record visitor numbers and record ticket sales. More than 120 volunteers and 90 different artists and companies took part with 250 performances across...
Read More about Durham Fringe Festival sees record visitor numbers over five daysBrits struggling to afford price of foreign holidays turn to UK getaways
5 Aug 2024
Two-thirds of Brits (66%) are struggling to afford the price of a foreign holiday this year and are instead turning to UK getaways this summer, according to new research revealed by TransPennine Express (TPE). The research found that a quarter of Brits (25%) have decided against a holiday abroad...
Read More about Brits struggling to afford price of foreign holidays turn to UK getawaysWave of success for Seaham Food Festival
5 Aug 2024
Thousands took a trip to the seaside to enjoy some fun, sun, and the return of one of the region’s biggest food festivals. People flocked to Seaham Food Festival this weekend for two days of food, family entertainment, and cooking demonstrations from some of the nation’s favourite chefs. The...
Read More about Wave of success for Seaham Food FestivalPublic Art Installation unveiled at Auckland Tower
1 Aug 2024
A major outdoor art installation, inspired by England’s oldest stained-glass windows, has been unveiled on the exterior of Auckland Tower in Bishop Auckland. Following a nationwide and rigorous selection process, the installation has been created by Bristol-based artist and...
Read More about Public Art Installation unveiled at Auckland TowerNew media centre
31 Jul 2024
Visit County Durham's new online media centre is now live. Inside the media centre you'll find key photography and videography featuring the county's many amazing attractions, accommodation, food and drink experiences, things to do and more! All these assets can be used in your own promotional...
Read More about New media centreTourism awards
31 Jul 2024
If you run a tourism, hospitality or leisure business - make sure you're in the running for the Destination North East England Tourism Awards! These prestigious awards celebrate everything from the best pubs and bars in the area to the most accessible, inclusive or sustainable places to visit. The...
Read More about Tourism awardsDisability confident
31 Jul 2024
A new Disability Confident guide has been published by the Department for Work and Pensions, to help business managers recruit, retain and foster the progression of disabled people in the workplace. Find out how to get the most from the Disability Confident scheme, boost disability employment and...
Read More about Disability confidentNorth East England leads the way with Interactive 3D virtual tours &inclusivity training
29 Jul 2024
Visitors heading to some of the region’s top tourist spots can now feel safe, welcomed and included before they even arrive thanks to groundbreaking, interactive 3D photography and pioneering inclusivity training designed to break down barriers to access for everyone. Destination North East...
Read More about North East England leads the way with Interactive 3D virtual tours &inclusivity trainingVisit County Durham welcome familiarisation trip
29 Jul 2024
Earlier this month Visit County Durham partnered with Group Leisure and Travel Magazine on a familiarisation visit to the county. The group was made up of 12 group travel organisers and tour operators who spent two nights in Durham experiencing some of the best it has to offer. They enjoyed a...
Read More about Visit County Durham welcome familiarisation tripPeace Doves artwork arrives in Durham Cathedral
26 Jul 2024
Visitors to Durham Cathedral this summer can experience a brand new immersive artwork as a canopy of paper doves is suspended in the cathedral's Nave. Peace Doves, a mass-participation artwork by Peter Walker, has taken centre stage in the Nave of the cathedral today (Friday 26 July). The...
Read More about Peace Doves artwork arrives in Durham CathedralAttractions survey results
24 Jul 2024
VisitEngland has published its 2023 Annual Survey of Visits to Visitor Attractions showing that while visits to attractions across England continued to recover last year, they were still significantly down on pre-pandemic levels. Overall visits to attractions in England were up 11% in 2023 compared...
Read More about Attractions survey resultsHow's business
24 Jul 2024
Please spare 10 minutes of your time to complete our latest How's Business survey. The results are important for us to see what is hapenning across the visitor economy and to analyse where there are themes and issues. the results of the survey help inform our future activity and to see how we can...
Read More about How's businessDetailed access guides
24 Jul 2024
Today's travellers want detailed and factual descriptions of venue accessibility, in the form of an Accessibility Guide, to empower them to make personal choices. To support this, VisitEngland is providing discounts to tourism businesses to help them provide quality-assured accessibility...
Read More about Detailed access guides