Hairy Biker Si King expressed his love for Northumberland and declared North East seafood as the best in the world at the annual Northumberland tourism conference.
The popular TV chef, one half of the TV duo who filmed episodes in Newcastle and Northumberland for the Hairy Bikers Go North in 2021, encouraged businesses to work together and take a collaborative approach to spread the word of Northumberland's "incredible" offer. He also encourage businesses to be "louder" in championing their own services and products to compete with other counties across England.
Si spoke to more than 100 people at the Visit Northumberland annual tourism conference at the Queen's Hall Arts Centre in Hexham. The conference comes just after booking.com announced in their annual Travel Predictions Report for 2023, in which Newcastle was named a trending UK destination, that a third of UK travellers were looking for "off-grid" style holidays to escape from reality, putting Northumberland in a good position ahead of 2023.
Read more: Northumberland tourism boost with visitors feeling welcome - and want to return
A recent report also showed that 99% of visitors to Northumberland felt welcome and would recommend it as a destination to others. As well as Si King, keynote speakers at the conference included Patricia Yates from VisitBritain and Rachel Gillis from VisitEngland, who outlined the importance of Purple Tuesday, a national initiative that aims to help businesses improve the experience for their disabled customers each November 1.
The county's tourism industry heard that an increased focus on partnership and collaboration could be the key to success for the development and growth of its visitor economy. Aimed at strengthening connectivity, boosting productivity and encouraging product development, the new Northumberland Destination Management Plan was officially launched at the event.
Also launched on the day was a Dark Skies Star Trails product development programme to create bookable products aiming to attract new visitors, made possible with funding from the North of Tyne Combined Authority tourism and the events programme. Spending the night under Northumberland's dark skies has been named the UK's top experience to do before turning 40, and astrotourism is said to be worth around £25m to the local economy.
Andrew Fox, Visit Northumberland Chairman said: "While there remain unprecedented challenges ahead, the roll out of the new Northumberland Destination Management Plan will help to shape the long-term future of the destination and will be delivered by activity from partners right across the sector. Tourism is a significant contributor to the Northumberland economy with 7.8million visitors spending £859million and supporting 11,179 jobs across the county in 2021 and the delivery of the plan gives us a firm footing on which to deliver more and will focus our resources to maximise economies of scale."
Cllr Jeff Watson of Northumberland County Council, said: "Northumberland has much to offer international, domestic and local visitors. I am delighted that Visit Northumberland is well positioned to work with partners and businesses locally, regionally and nationally.
"The focus and partnership between businesses and the Visit Northumberland team mean that we have the plans to build on our success and keep Northumberland firmly on the map."
Are you considering a holiday in Northumberland in 2023? Let us know!
Read next
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