Visit Northumberland tourism campaign hailed a huge success

Post-campaign research has revealed that since seeing or hearing the campaign, 68% of those surveyed said they are planning on visiting Northumberland in the future generating a potential visitor spend of over £4.5 million.

In addition, those that visited Northumberland since seeing the campaign have spent on average 16% more during their stay with local tourism businesses.

Launched in April this year by Visit Northumberland, the official Destination Management Organisation for the county, the marketing campaign sought to raise awareness of Northumberland as a holiday destination focusing on ‘endless experiences’ the organisation’s new strapline highlighting the numerous amazing discoveries and unforgettable experiences on offer in Northumberland.

Central to the campaign was a 30 second inspirational campaign video and 30 second radio advert that aired for two weeks on ITV Tyne Tees and ITV Borders and nationally on TV On Demand.

"We are pleased with the success of this campaign which in total had a reach of over 6.3 million people with more than 108,000 people viewing the Visit Northumberland website in May, making this the highest May on record,” said Cris Brown, head of marketing and communications at Visit Northumberland.

“What is particularly encouraging is an increase in average spend per party compared with results of pre-covid spring/summer campaign in 2019. We have also seen a good return in the numbers of visitors that were influenced to visit places and attractions they hadn’t planned to visit.”

Thanks to funding from the North of Tyne Combined Authority Covid Capacity Fund, the Visit Northumberland campaign was the first since 2012 to feature TV advertising and was supported by promotion across eight radio stations and social media advertising.

Other key findings from the survey were that 51% of those surveyed that visited said that seeing/hearing the campaign probably or definitely turned a potential visit into a certainty.

Based on those completing the survey a return on investment of £25.72:1 was achieved with a potential return on investment of £121:1 if those who said they will visit do so.

Enjoy our headlines with fewer distractions and sign up to a digital subscription today - fewer ads, faster load times and all of the stories you need.

Your support for our journalism means we can continue supporting our communities for generations to come.

Click ‘Subscribe’ in the menu to find out more and sign up.