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Latest News
All the latest news from the Industry and the Visit County Durham Grapevine newsletter.
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...
Read More about Purple Tuesday 2022Dark 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...
Read More about Dark skies workshopDeadline 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...
Read More about Deadline extensionEnergy 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...
Read More about Energy price capEnvironment 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,...
Read More about Environment Awards 2022Bright 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...
Read More about Bright ideasTourism 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...
Read More about Tourism Awards WorkshopInternational 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...
Read More about International MarketingSuccessful 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...
Read More about Successful US MissionVisitor 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...
Read More about Visitor Economy Factsheet 2021Walking trails on track to boost tourism recovery in Durham and wider region
19 Jul 2022
Six long-distance walking trails inspired by the North East’s historic reputation as a place of pilgrimage are playing a significant role in boosting Durham’s tourism economy. Launched last year, the Northern Saints Trails cover more than 200 miles and are positioning the North East as the...
Read More about Walking trails on track to boost tourism recovery in Durham and wider regionUS travel trade mission
13 Jul 2022
In partnership with Marketing Manchester and Avanti Destinations, Visit County Durham is visiting Texas next week as part of the Manchester Gateway Project. We will be meeting with over 150 US travel trade, travel agents and travel media across the week, with the aim of increasing awareness of...
Read More about US travel trade missionLast chance to vote
13 Jul 2022
Voting closes for Durham Tourism Superstar 2022 this Friday 15th July. Who will take the prestigious award run by Visit County Durham and The Northern Echo, and go on to represent the county at VisitEngland's national awards? The winner is being announced at next Wednesday's Visit County Durham...
Read More about Last chance to voteTourism Sentiment Report
6 Jul 2022
The Visit County Durham commissioned Tourism Sentiment Report for June 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, key...
Read More about Tourism Sentiment ReportAccessibility toolkit
6 Jul 2022
VisitEngland has fully updated their Accessible and Inclusive Marketing Toolkit which can help your business reach the £15.3bn accessible tourism market. The toolkit explains the importance of terminology and disability representation, as well as providing hints and tips on creating accessibility...
Read More about Accessibility toolkit