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Northumberland National Park beats tourism target

A new tourism report commissioned by Northumberland National Park Authority shows that tourism is thriving within the Park.

The figures for 2015 show that visitors are spending more and staying longer, contributing £76.44m to the rural economy and supporting 1,128 jobs in the Park.

This performance excels the target set by the National Park Authority to grow tourism revenue from visitors to £75.8m in 2015.

Councillor Glen Sanderson, Chair of Northumberland National Park Authority, said: “We very much want visitors to first and foremost enjoy it but also to make a positive contribution to the economy of the area.

“The economic target set for the year was to increase the value of tourism from visitors to £75.8m and we are delighted to have surpassed it so substantially.

“This is great news for us and the wider region. Growth in tourism is a key means by which the North East can close the economic performance gap with the rest of the UK. The report shows that during the last five years Northumberland National Park’s tourism economy has grown faster in relative terms than the UK economy.

“We are looking forward to building on this success with the launch of The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre next year. The Sill is a perfect vehicle for us to work with our partners locally and across the wider region to capitalise on growing tourism opportunities.”

A £14.8m investment, including £7.8m from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), The Sill is an all-weather facility which will engage people of all ages and backgrounds with Northumberland by providing a gateway for them to explore the wider county and other protected landscapes including the North Pennines and the Northumberland Coastal Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The Sill will attract over 100,000 visitors per year and is set to deliver substantial economic benefits within the Park and beyond by contributing an estimated £2.5 million per annum to the North East economy.

The project will give significant support to the rural economy by providing new employment opportunities and opportunities for skills development and training, along with a year-round activity, education and events programme.

The building has fully-serviced office facilities for more than 20 local start-up businesses related to rural and outdoor pursuits and an extensive café that will offer fine fayre from food producers across the county.

There is also a new, world-class YHA Youth Hostel on site with approximately 90 beds to provide people with a modern, high-quality visitor experience.

Tony Gates, Chief Executive adds: “We want the National Park to be a sustainable cultural and economic asset that benefits the region for many years to come. The Sill is set to become a superb asset in attracting even more visitors to the county each year, as well as enabling local enterprise to thrive and creating dozens of jobs.

“We recently attended Hexham Jobs Fair to promote apprenticeship opportunities and launched the first phase of our recruitment campaign to support the delivery of The Sill’s extensive Activity & Engagement programme.

“It is important to promote the many training and job opportunities the countryside supports. We are very keen for local businesses, services and activity providers to get in touch to explore commercial opportunities where we can work together and deliver the 30,000 activity days The Sill aims to provide throughout the Park.”

The National Park tourism study is an annual report used by National Parks across the country to quantify the local economic impact of tourism from both staying and day visitors. It analyses a variety of factors including visitor attraction numbers, tourist accommodation, events attendance and occupancy levels throughout the year.

The tourism report shows that Northumberland National Park currently attracts 1.76m visitors to the area per year, of which 1.41m are day visitors and 350,000 stay overnight.

The increase in visitor numbers is another cause for celebration in a landmark year for Northumberland National Park, which also celebrated its 60th anniversary in April and won the public vote for the prestigious accolade of ‘National Park of the Year’ in the BBC Countryfile Magazine Awards 2015/16.

The county has also triumphed in the 2016 Family Traveller Awards, with Northumberland winning ‘Best UK Region for Families’. The judges and the public demonstrated that Northumberland has something great to offer visitors of all ages, from the wilds of the National Park, Kielder Water & Forest Park and the North Pennines, to the beautiful sandy beaches and seaside towns on the coast. In the same awards, YHA (England and Wales) was voted ‘Best UK Accommodation for Families’.

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