Visit County Durham’s ‘Next Stop, Durham’ campaign is capitalising on the county’s location on the tourist trail between London, York and Edinburgh, as well as driving demand from domestic groups.

Building on Visit County Durham’s tourism promotion success in 2025, which contributed an estimated £165m in visitor spend, this year’s campaign aims to raise the profile of the county amongst the travel trade. ‘Next Stop, Durham’ is encouraging coach tour operators to build the county into itineraries as an exciting new addition.

Duncan Peake, Chair of Visit County Durham and Chief Executive of CTA-member Raby Estates, said: “We’re proud to be part of this campaign, which is shining a spotlight on everything County Durham has to offer. For the group travel market, the county provides an exceptional mix of attractions, heritage and hospitality, making it easy to create engaging and varied itineraries.”

In the area, the live-action show park ‘Kynren: The Storied Lands’, opens this summer, alongside the live performances of Kynren. Meanwhile, investment in the area in recent years includes the development of The Auckland Project, while other coach-friendly attractions include Raby Castle, The Bowes Museum, and Locomotion.