Hairy Biker Si King hears about 'canny' new tourism marketing campaign for Northumberland

Around 150 delegates from the tourism industry attended the event at Macdonald Linden Hall Golf and Country Club.

Topics included accessibility and inclusion, sustainability and responsible tourism but there was also a tease for the Northumberland Canny Visitor Pledge.

This upcoming marketing campaign will officially launch in March and has been developed to encourage Northumberland’s visitors to travel responsibly.

The pledge will feature important messages about protecting Northumberland’s wildlife and landscapes using some Northumbrian language and colloquialisms.

Speakers also included Lyndsey Turner-Swift, Visit England deputy director, and Ian Thomas, destination director at NGI.

Andrew Fox, chair of Visit Northumberland, said, “It was fantastic to see so many tourism businesses in the room and the sense of passion, partnership and expertise on the day was undeniable.

"Tourism is a significant contributor to the Northumberland economy with 9.97million visitors spending a record £1.169 billion and supporting 14,683 jobs across the county in 2023 and the conference delivered important messages around being ‘canny’ to all visitors, understanding various accessibility needs, encouraging sustainable travel and making an all-round positive contribution to this thriving industry.”

Gemma Gee, owner of The Cramlington Forager and partner of Visit Northumberland, said: “It was wonderful to be able to connect with others who live and work in Northumberland, who are proud to call it home and who are eager to see our beautiful county recognised for all it stands for: its outstanding landscape and wildlife, its communities and heartfelt people, its culture and its history. It was definitely a very warming welcome to our Visit Northumberland partnership.”