Visitor guides showing what’s on where in Northumberland are pulling in the tourists, new research has shown.
A review of the Northumberland Holiday Guide and Days Out and Attractions leaflet has been carried out and it estimates that readers of the publications spent £53million in the county last year.
It is suggested that £4.1million of the total can be directly attributed to the use of the guides.
And the figures indicate that visitors’ holiday spend in the county was up 8.4 per cent in 2013.
The Northumberland Holiday and Short Breaks Guide is designed to encourage people to visit the county and book a stay.
It includes articles, imagery and a comprehensive accommodation section.
According to research, more than 21 per cent of readers booked a trip to Northumberland after reading the guide.
The Days Out and Attractions leaflet is to inform and inspire visitors during their stay. It includes a map, visitor information and an extensive list of things to do in the county.
A total of 250,000 are printed and distributed each year and 31.2 per cent of users in 2013 said they were influenced to visit attractions or places they hadn’t though of before seeing the leaflet.
Both publications will be printed again and due to high demand this year, the Holiday Guide print-run will be increased for the 2015 edition to provide an extra 20,000 copies. Northumberland Tourism General Manager Jude Leitch said: “In these days of tight budgets we can only invest in marketing activities that we know will show a significant return for Northumberland.
“Both of these documents have again shown their worth and we’re delighted that they are attracting significant numbers of new visitors to our county and, once here, inspiring them to do and spend more.”
The guides complement online content at www.visitnorthumberland.com