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Latest News
All the latest news from the Industry and the Visit County Durham Grapevine newsletter.
Visit County Durham
How's Business Survey
12 Oct 2022
Understanding the needs and concerns of the industry helps us to plan our future activity and support. Please spare 5 minutes to complete this short survey in relation to the ongoing impact of Covid-19, your performance and any current concerns you have. The survey will run until Friday 11th...
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Visit County Durham
Astronomy courses
5 Oct 2022
Visit County Durham Supplier Partner Star Safaris has launched two new online astronomy courses aimed at businesses. The 'Star Ranger' certification is designed to train people with no knowledge of the night sky in how to run outdoor guided experiences. The 'Star Base' accreditation is for small...
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Visit County Durham
Tourism Sentiment Report
5 Oct 2022
The Visit County Durham commissioned Tourism Sentiment report for September 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...
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Visit County Durham
Last chance to apply
28 Sep 2022
The deadline for the North East England Tourism Awards 2023 is tomorrow at 5pm. If you've started an application, make sure you complete it by the deadline. If you're still thinking about entering, don't hesitate, enter today! The awards are free to enter and if shortlisted, your business can...
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Visit County Durham
Campaign partner opportunity
28 Sep 2022
Visit County Durham's latest national marketing campaign is about to get underway, providing excellent cost effective promotional opportunities for our partners. The 'Memorable Moments' campaign will showcase the experiences that can be had in the county during Autumn, Winter and Spring, and...
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Visit County Durham
Purple Tuesday 2022
22 Sep 2022
VisitEngland and VisitScotland are the official tourism sector partners for Purple Tuesday 2022, which will take place on 1st November. Purple Tuesday is a national initiative that helps businesses to improve the experience for their disabled customers, culminating in a celebration in November...
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Visit County Durham
Dark skies workshop
22 Sep 2022
Visit County Durham is offering a Dark Skies workshop to help businesses make the most of this growing market. The workshop will be split into two sessions. The first on Wednesday 16th November 10am-1pm at Bishop Auckland Town Hall, will cover information about Dark Skies in County Durham, why they...
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Visit County Durham
Deadline extension
22 Sep 2022
Following the period of national mourning for her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, it has been decided to extend the deadline for applications to the North East England Tourism Awards to 5pm on Thursday 29th September. This will allow businesses more time to start and/or complete their applications. The...
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Visit County Durham
Energy price cap
22 Sep 2022
The Department for Business, Energy and Industry has today announced the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which will see energy prices for non-domestic energy customers such as businesses, charities and public sector organisations cut. The discount will apply to fixed contracts agreed on or after 1st...
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Visit County Durham
Environment Awards 2022
8 Sep 2022
The County Durham Environment Awards 2022 are open for entries. Now in its 33rd year, the event celebrates the county's community groups, individuals, businesses and other organisations that go the extra mile to improve their local environment in a sustainable way. Nominate yourself or a building,...
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Visit County Durham
Bright ideas
8 Sep 2022
The Bright Ideas Gathering, commissioned by Durham County Council, is the exciting new event taking place at the Gala Theatre in Durham on Sunday 2nd October 10:30am-5:30pm. Imagine taking the deep insights of a profound lecture and combining it with the electricity of great theatre. The Bright...
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Visit County Durham
Tourism Awards Workshop
8 Sep 2022
Businesses thinking of applying to the North East England Tourism Awards are being given another opportunity to join a workshop to help prepare and submit an application to this year's awards. The free online workshop, being held on Monday 12th September between 10am-11am, will cover the...
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Visit County Durham
International Marketing
8 Sep 2022
Continuing to build on our International marketing activity, this week Visit County Durham is attending Destination Britain North America (DBNA) in Washington DC. DBNA offers the unique opportunity to meet hand-picked top buyers from the USA and Canada market. During the event, VCD will be meeting...
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Visit County Durham
Successful US Mission
27 Jul 2022
In partnership with Marketing Manchester and Avanti Destinations, Visit County Durham has completed a successful US mission to Texas. Feedback from the visit was positive, with many US travel agents keen to start booking clients to the county and advising that there is a real interest from the US...
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Visit County Durham
Visitor Economy Factsheet 2021
27 Jul 2022
Visit County Durham has commissioned the STEAM report over the last 15 years, an economic impact study which allows us to track the performance of our destination. The latest results from this study relate to 2021 and you can view the full breakdown of performance by downloading the Visitor Economy...
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