Industry News

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 to providing excellent customer service, and also improved their knowledge of attractions and activities in the county to be able to provide visitor information to their customers.

Guided by industry experts Matty Ayre, Travel and Tourism Lecturer   and Blue Badge Guide Jan Williams they were given practical skills to help them improve their customer service, which can make the difference between a visitor being satisfied, and a visitor being made to feel special.

Service is the heart of a successful destination, we want visitors to be advocates for Durham and for our businesses meaning that they recommend Durham, come back for a repeat visit, stay longer, and spend more money in the county – great service creates great ambassadors!

The course focussed on visitor welcome and customer service skills for the hospitality industry and provided an overview of the tourism products the county has to offer.

The course has been running since 2013 and has so far created over 230 Durham ambassadors including some during a recent course at The Story at Mount Oswald.

Philippa Heywood, The Bowes Museum said: ‘I learnt so much more about County Durham than I ever knew, despite having lived in the North East for my entire life!  It was wonderful to meet other people from the cultural sector and hear their own experiences and ambitions, learning just what County Durham has to offer and what we all hope to offer in the future, bringing more tourism and adventure to the region for the next generation.  It is an exciting time to be a part of this sector and I am excited to see where else we can go, and like that I am now better able to recommend other local venues.’

To register your interest for future courses please email lucy.wearne@visitcountydurham.org