AS part of English Tourism Week, Northumberland County Council has thrown its support behind the region's tourism sector.

English Tourism Week, which runs from May 25-31, is an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance, value and quality of the tourism sector across the UK.

In Northumberland, the county council continues to support businesses in the tourism sector through its Business Hub, which was set up in response to the Coronavirus outbreak.


Tourism is a major economic driver for Northumberland, contributing £1 billion and attracting more than 10 million visitors.

The sector directly employs more than 13,000 people and is the county’s second largest employer.

Since 2012, the county has seen a 17% growth in visitor numbers and 35% growth in economic value.

Cllr Peter Jackson, leader of the council 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.

“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.”

Cllr Cath Homer, cabinet member for Culture, Art, Leisure and Tourism at the council, 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.”

The council has released a video, produced by creative agency Drummond Central, to let visitors know that when the time is right, Northumberland will be ready and willing to welcome everyone back with open arms.

Residents, visitors, partners and national bodies are all being encouraged to use the video, until people are able to experience the county again for themselves, or pique their interest for a future visit.


On May 28 as part of #ThrowbackThursday, the council ask that the public share their memories of their favourite holidays in the county to the Discover our Land and Visit Northumberland Facebook pages.