Visit County Durham is celebrating its 20th anniversary after helping to transform the county into one of England's leading visitor destinations. New figures reveal it welcomed its highest ever number of visitors in 2025, and remains the most visited destination in the North East.

The latest STEAM tourism research shows County Durham attracted a record 21.98 million visitors in 2025, an increase of eight per cent on the previous year. Visitor expenditure reached an all-time high of £1.48 billion, while the sector now supports more than 14,000 jobs across the county.

Over the past two decades, Visit County Durham has played a leading role in developing the county's visitor economy, bringing together tourism businesses, partners and stakeholders to build a stronger, more competitive destination while raising County Durham's profile nationally and internationally. Among its key achievements have been the launch of the county's first Destination Management Plan, the creation of the Taste Durham food and drink initiative, the introduction of the first dedicated tourism website and unified destination brand and securing national recognition from VisitEngland as one of England's leading destination brands and being one of the first three accredited Local Visitor Economy Partnerships.

Today, the organisation continues to lead destination development through partnership working, business support, research, destination marketing and investment in high-profile campaigns that showcase everything County Durham has to offer. Most recently, the successful Next Stop Durham campaign reached more than 18 million people through advertising across the London Underground and East Coast Main Line, alongside national media partnerships, influencer activity and press visits, helping generate an estimated £165 million in visitor spending. And product development initiatives, such as the Northern Saints Trails, led by Visit County Durham, have created experiences that attract new audiences.

The county's tourism offer has also been strengthened over the past 20 years through sustained private and public sector investment, with world-class attractions, accommodation and experiences growing the county’s appeal even further.

Find out more at https://www.visitcountydurham.org/

PHOTO: Michelle Groman, managing director of Visit County Durham, celebrates its 20th anniversary with the team at the organisation’s annual Garden Party.