County Durham gives VIPs the red carpet treatment

Thursday, 24th May 2007

Categories: ATP-CD News

County Durham has launched its first ever VIP Passport, giving holders the freedom of the county, with exclusive entry into almost 30 attractions.

Created by the Durham Attractions Group, the pass is aimed at a nation-wide audience of travel writers, key influencers within the travel industry and Tourist Information Staff - those who can influence people outside the region and encourage them to discover the range of experiences the county has to offer.

The pass gives users the freedom to explore the county, opening the doors to 28 attractions, including Durham County Cricket Club, to the Bowes Museum, Killhope and Durham Cathedral and Castle.

"The VIP Pass is a key tool in encouraging more visitors from outside the region to discover County Durham," said Craig Wilson, destination development and marketing manager at CDTP.

"By giving tour operators and tourist group planners the keys to the county, they can experience a wide variety of attractions and get a real feel for what our area has to offer. When they're putting together their tour itineraries they'll know exactly where to plan their visits.

"We're also trying to attract regional, national and international travel writers. The VIP Pass will allow them to experience the width and depth of visitor attractions available in County Durham."

Just over four months old, the Durham Attractions Group was set up by the County Durham Tourism Partnership (CDTP) as a forum for members to discuss common issues and share their experience and knowledge. The pass is the first of the group's ideas to come to fruition and CDTP views the scheme as an important means of giving County Durham a competitive edge against other visitor destinations across Britain.

"We're quite a hidden gem and we hope that by supporting the VIP Pass more people will discover us," explained Maggie Bell, owner of Crook Hall and Gardens. "People in County Durham, let alone other parts of the country, still don't know about us and this scheme should help raise our profile."

Richard Dowson, operations manager at Durham County Cricket Club, said: "Not only do we host high profile cricket matches, but we also hold other events, like music concerts, which are important on both a regional and national scale. This scheme adds another string to our bow, by raising awareness of what we have to offer."

The pass incorporates the same look and feel of CDTP's visitor guide and recently launched website at visitcountydurham.com. The launch forms part of CDTP's efforts to boost the local tourism economy and follows a series of advertorials in travel trade publications, along with promotional activity in selected regional titles, placed to help raise awareness of the county as a visitor destination.

Tourism is a key industry in County Durham, which attracts more than 16 million visitors each year, contributing £1.6 million every day to the local economy and supporting 12,000 jobs.

ENDS