Member Article

Northumberland tourism campaign generates £4.3 million spending

A tourism marketing campaign for Northumberland, funded by the Regional Growth Fund, is estimated to have generated £4.3 million of spending in the county.

The national project, part of VisitEngland’s three-year ‘Growing Tourism Locally’ campaign, received £160k of RGF money.

VisitEngland also estimate that money spend will allow tourism Northumberland businesses to create 82 new jobs.

The campaign advertisements used inspiring imagery and cheeky strap-lines to attract people who haven’t holidayed in Northumberland before.

81% of people surveyed said they liked the advertisements and 67% said that the advertisements made them more likely to consider Northumberland as a holiday destination.

Jude Leitch, of Northumberland Tourism said: “Northumberland is often considered a ‘hidden gem’. We want to change that and introduce as many UK visitors as possible to our spectacular scenery, interesting attractions and fascinating stories.

“We need to let people know just how much there is to do in Northumberland and how easy we are to reach – and these campaigns help us to do that.”

Northumberland County Councillor Val Tyler said: “Tourism is hugely important to Northumberland providing over 11,000 jobs.

“Partnering with VisitEngland in their three year campaign has provided a wonderful opportunity for the county to attract new visitors and further grow this key industry.

“As this research demonstrates, this has already resulted in the creation of a significant number of new jobs for people in Northumberland, with another two years of marketing activity still to come.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .