Visitors spend £1billion in Northumberland - tourism boost to the county revealed

Picture released by Northumberland Tourism

The annual Northumberland report on the economic impact of tourism has been released, revealing the massive cash injection visitors brought when exploring the county in 2018.

The research shows the visitor economy in Northumberland is continuing to grow year on year, with the report revealing the county welcomed 10.48million visitors during 2018, a 2% increase on 2017.

Cris Brown, operations manager at Northumberland Tourism, said: “We are delighted that the hard work and dedication from everyone involved within Northumberland’s tourism industry has once again driven such positive results.

“Working closely with Northumberland County Council and partners throughout the county the ongoing challenge is to ensure that this year on year growth is managed sustainably so that Northumberland remains a place that both our residents and visitors alike can enjoy and be proud of.”

Cath Homer, cabinet member for Culture, Arts, Leisure and Tourism at Northumberland County Council, said: "Tourism continues to be a major economic driver for Northumberland and to have broken through the £1billion visitor spend figure is brilliant news for the county.

"Northumberland really is in the spotlight at the moment with a number of exciting accolades, most notably the British Travel Awards Gold from last year. These figures demonstrate the continued growth in tourism and the hard work and dedication of everyone working in the industry.

"Our Discover our Land campaign aims to build on these credentials and raise the profile of the county even further to ensure that we continue to be the number one destination of choice."

The report, but together from research by the conducted by NewcastleGateshead Initiative, shows that also revealed promising figures around the employment sector, showing that 13,020 people are directly employed by tourism in Northumberland, this is a 6.27% increase on the previous year.

To read the full report please visit the Northumberland Tourism website: www.northumberlandtourism.org.uk

In July 2019 the Northumberland Gazette reported how holiday home owners had agreed to contribute towards council coffers.

Bamburgh Parish Council sent out a letter to every holiday home asking for a £25 donation towards its council tax precept and raised £1,050.