Industry News

Visit County Durham’s national destination marketing campaign, Memorable Moments, generated £86.6 million in visitor spend, research has revealed.

The campaign, which ran from October 2022 to April 2023 and was delivered in partnership with the county’s tourism businesses, reached over 2.25 million potential visitors.

The research, which surveyed all website users who submitted their contact information via campaign activity, showed that 38 per cent had been directly influenced by the campaign to visit the county. Of those respondents who already had a trip planned, 26 per cent were directly influenced to extend their stay. And for those who had not yet visited the county, 77 per cent of respondents stated the campaign made them more likely to visit in the future.

Michelle Gorman, managing director at Visit County Durham, said: “We are absolutely thrilled with the impact of the Memorable Moments national destination marketing campaign. It is our partners that make such high-impact activity possible, by increasing the budget available for paid-for media and amplifying the campaign through their own channels. We are, as ever, very grateful for their ongoing support.”

Memorable Moments saw campaign activity including a feature in the Guardian Travel Guide, online content partnerships with Time Out, Birmingham Mail and Manchester Evening News, influencer commissions and targeted digital advertising.

Following the success of Memorable Moments, Visit County Durham will be launching their latest national destination marketing campaign, Do Durham Differently, this autumn.

Special thanks to the Memorable Moments campaign partners:

Primary partners
The Auckland Project
The Bowes Museum
Beamish, The Living Museum of the North

Locomotion

Supporting partners 

Durham Cathedral
Forestry England
Northumbrian Water

Raby Estates
Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens

Accommodation partners
Headlam Hall
Host & Stay
Radisson Blu