Work underway to relaunch Northumberland tourism trade worth £1billion and employing more 13,000 people
Figures released to coincide with English Tourism Week show that Northumberland welcomed 10.48m visitors in 2018.
Tourism spend is worth £1bn to Northumberland and the sector directly employs more than 13,000 people and is the county’s second largest employer.
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Hide AdSince 2012 the county has seen a 17% growth in visitor numbers and 35% growth in economic value.
Northumberland County Council is supporting the tourism sector through the coronavirus crisis through its business hub.
Coun Peter Jackson, leader, said: “Our businesses are key to driving forward our future prosperity and recovery of the county.
“We know that the coronavirus pandemic has been incredibly tough on our businesses and residents and we have been working tirelessly to support them through this time.
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Hide Ad“We are continuing to work with the Government to make sure that all our businesses, particularly those smaller businesses in the tourism sector are not overlooked and receive the support they need to survive.”
Coun Cath Homer, cabinet member for tourism, added: “Our tourism industry is hugely important to the county, and we know that businesses in the sector are very concerned about how we recover from this.
“We need to make sure that we are putting those plans in place now, to ensure that we continue to have a strong tourism sector which is prepared and can react quickly to current restrictions continuing to ease.
“We are working with our tourism partners across the county, and with VisitEngland and VisitBritain to ensure that Northumberland is in prime position to welcome visitors back to the area when the time is right.”
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Hide AdThe council has released a video to let visitors know that when the time is right, Northumberland will be ready and willing to welcome everyone back with open arms, produced by creative agency Drummond Central.
Residents, visitors, partners and national bodies are all being encouraged to use the video.
On Thursday, May 28 people are being asked to share their memories of favourite holidays in the county to the Discover our Land and Visit Northumberland Facebook pages.