Hexham MP Joe Morris calls on Government to promote tourism outside of London

A Northumberland MP has called on the Government and Visit Britain to better promote tourism in the UK outside of London.

Tourism levels in the county remain significantly lower when compared to other regions. Figures from Visit Britain showed that are around 860,000 domestic and 49,000 international visits made to Northumberland per year.

In comparison, the neighbouring Lake District saw 18.14 million visitors in 2022, while London attracted around 20 million visitors in 2023. Tourists also spend less money in the North East than any other region.

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Speaking on Tuesday, Hexham MP Joe Morris led his third Westminster Hall Debate on tourism in the county. He praised the area's offer to visitors, including Vindolanda, Hexham Abbey and Prudhoe Castle - but said more could be done to attract bigger numbers in the future.

Mr Morris said: "Despite the rich history and beauty of our region, tourism in Northumberland and the North East still lags significantly behind tourism in other parts of the United Kingdom. London had over 20 million visitors in 2023, even though I would rather be in my constituency than in London on any given day of the week.

"When we compare tourist spending in London with that in the North East, we see that London receives £16.7 billion of international tourist spend, while Northumberland received just £20 million in 2023. That is a stark difference.

"I would like to see the Government prioritise increasing the proportion of overseas visitors to the region.

"Although increasing tourism is crucial for boosting our rural economy and for increasing job opportunities, there are areas that require support if we are to expand tourism. Transport, roads and infrastructure must be invested in to handle an influx of domestic and international tourists."

Cramlington and Killingworth MP Emma Foody backed Mr Morris' comments.

She said: " Tourism is a vital industry in Northumberland and it provides a huge number of livelihoods in our communities. We boast some of the best coastline anywhere in the world.

"Much of our tourism industry is about experiencing beautiful places such as Seaton Delaval hall or Northumberlandia, but it is also about the people, the culture and the feeling of a place. . It is the passion we have for our places and the people who keep them running every single day that make people want to visit our county, just as much as the beautiful places and sights do."

In 2016 Visit Britain found that 57% of international visitors "could not imagine" what the country was like outside of London. The Government's Tourism Minister, Chris Bryant, said it was "embarrassing" so many visitors only thought of the country's capital.

He added : "There is far more to see in the United Kingdom. The question is how we best effect that change. I want to change that, but that will require a five or 10-year strategy, which I hope we will be able to publish over the coming months.

"I would be interested to talk to people from different parts of the country about making sure that we put a strategy in place that will genuinely work."

Earlier this year Kim McGuinness, North East mayor, announced plans to double tourism in the North East over the next 10 years and create more than 25,000 new jobs for locals.