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

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Format: 29-12-2023

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Format: 30-12-2023

Industry

Park to reach new heights with tower attraction

10 Feb 2025

A new play attraction standing almost 15 metres tall is to be installed in a County Durham park. Durham County Council has been making improvements to Hardwick Park’s play area as part of a scheme to redevelop its play facilities. The works include installing a brand-new play area which features...

Industry

First chefs announced for Bishop Auckland Food Festival

7 Feb 2025

A Sunday Brunch host, social media baker, and a MasterChef champion are among the celebrity chefs who will appear at this year’s Bishop Auckland Food Festival. The popular Durham County Council-run festival will return to Bishop Auckland on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 April, for a weekend of...

Visit County Durham

2024: Year in Search

6 Feb 2025

We take a look back on what visitors searched for and looked at throughout 2024 on thisisdurham.com, the county’s official tourism website. January As the new year got underway visitors to our website were busy making plans for the month and year ahead. One of the most popular searches was Durham...

Industry

English Tourism Week

6 Feb 2025

English Tourism Week takes place 14th - 23rd March, and the campaign toolkit is now available for you to download. Designed to kickstart the summer season, the annual campaign gives businesses and destinations an opportunity to shout about tourism as part of a national campaign and raise awareness...

Visit County Durham

We are Hiring

6 Feb 2025

Visit County Durham is looking for an International Partnerships Executive who has knowledge of the visitor economy, culture and creative industry sectors and their role in place-making. You will work to develop and manage internal and external international partnerships and connections that...

Visit County Durham

Promote your Events

6 Feb 2025

In the build up to February half-term and the Easter holidays, we will be using our consumer channels to promote the amazing range of events visitors can enjoy across the county. A dedicated events landing page has been created for half-term and Easter events. Our thisisdurham.com 'What's On'...

Industry

Hall Hill Farm in County Durham Crowned UK’s Best Large Farm Attraction

6 Feb 2025

Hall Hill Farm near Lanchester, County Durham, is celebrating a huge win after being named Large Farm Attraction of the Year at the prestigious National Farm Attractions Network Awards. The awards gala, held last week at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, brought together the UK’s top farm...

Industry

Ramside Hall Hotel to create multi million pound golf facility

6 Feb 2025

A County Durham hotel is investing more than £6m in creating what will be one of the UK’s top golf facilities. Ramside Hall Hotel, Golf and Spa already has two championship courses, which brings players from across the region and nationally. And now the hotel is building a multi-million-pound...

Industry

VisitBritain awards Gateway Fund to inspire international visitors to explore Britain through regional gateways

3 Feb 2025

Destination North East England and Marketing Manchester have secured funding from VisitBritain’s GREAT Gateway Innovation Fund. With VisitBritain’s global screen tourism campaign ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ set to launch, the Gateway Fund campaigns will feature film and tv...

Industry

North Pennines tribute festival returns for 2025 with early bird discount offer

3 Feb 2025

Derwent Fest is back and ready to transport festival goers through the decades with a tribute weekend like no other. Set in the picturesque North Pennines at Derwent Waterside Park, music, fun and relaxation come together to create an unforgettable weekend. The event takes place on 15 & 16...

Industry

Local Award Voting

29 Jan 2025

Voting is now open for Tourism Event & Festival of the Year in the North East England Tourism Awards! This is the first time we've had a publicly voted category - good luck to all the finalists. The businesses shortlisted are: Durham Fire & Ice Festival (Durham BID), Kynren, Northern Pride...

Visit County Durham

Expedia Campaign

29 Jan 2025

Visit County Durham has partnered with Newcastle International Airport, NewcastleGateshead Initiative, Visit Northumberland and Sunderland City Council to deliver a £40k marketing campaign with Expedia to drive an increase in visitors from France. The campaign supports the Easyjet route from...

Industry

LNER unveils 'Darlington' livery as it celebrates 200 years of the railway

29 Jan 2025

To kick off a year of celebrations, LNER has unveiled a commemorative livery on one of its Azuma trains to mark 200 years since the first passenger journey on the world-famous Stockton & Darlington Railway (S&DR). ‘Darlington’ has been designed to hail the town’s world-changing...

Industry

Save the date! Lumiere Durham returns in 2025

28 Jan 2025

Tuesday 28 January 2025. Artichoke has announced dates for Lumiere Durham 2025, the UK’s light art biennial. The hugely popular event will take place over three evenings this autumn, from Thursday 13 to Saturday 15 November 2025. Produced and curated by Artichoke and commissioned by Durham County...

Industry

VisitBritain launches global screen tourism campaign with blockbuster-inspired film

28 Jan 2025

To drive inbound tourism across Britain, national tourism agency VisitBritain has this week launched a global screen tourism campaign, kicking off with a blockbuster-inspired film that sees Britain the star of the show. The campaign ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ rolls out internationally...