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Sculptures, Surfing, & Shepherd’s Huts -See them all at the Alnwick Tourism Fair

“We are fully booked again for the Alnwick Tourism Fair on 13th March,” says Event Manager, Philip Angier. “And the line up of exhibitors gets more varied and innovative every year.

“It is definitely the first time that we have had a Shepherd’s Hut as an exhibit, ,. I am sure that it will attract a lot of interest.”

The Hut is the brainchild of Ross and Verity Thomson at Seahouses-based RDesign. Verity adds, "Ross and I are thrilled how the Hut has turned out. We decided to build it in the first place as we live in a very beautiful and thriving tourist area and thought how can we use the skills of our talented craftsmen while tapping into the leisure industry? After much research and trying to stay true to our Northumbrian Heritage, we have built our first one. We would love to build more of them, hence exhibiting at the Tourism Fair.”

Amongst the other 130 exhibitors at the Willowburn Sports & Leisure Centre you can find all about local attractions and festival, days out, holiday adventures and activities, places to stay and to eat, and business support services. Local artists and galleries will be exhibiting, including Anna Turnbull from Biteabout Arts.

“Anna’s willow sculptures never fail to catch the eye, and have become a popular feature at venues around the County.” Biteabout Arts offers workshops and takes special commissions in both felt-making and basketry.

The Alnwick Tourism Fair will take place on Tuesday 13th March and Hexham Tourism Fair at Hexham Mart on Thursday 15th March are both supported

by Northumberland County Council. Councillor Cath Homer, cabinet member with responsibility for culture, arts, leisure says: “ These events are part of our drive to help support local businesses. We want to spread the word about the fantastic, quality produce that the county has to offer. By bringing local producers and regional buyers together to network for the day we hope to open up new business opportunities for them and extend the appeal of Northumberland made produce across the North East.”

Jude Leitch, Director of Northumberland Tourism adds: “Northumberland attracts some 10 million visitors a year and the trend is steadily rising. I believe that we can continue to build on this – especially promoting year-round attractions like the county’s stunning dark skies in winter. Staycations remain popular with the British public and with a more ‘glamping’ sites and boutique hotels opening around the county every year the outlook looks good.”

Organisers, Local Living, are expecting more than 300 visitors through the door at Alnwick. Admission is free to the event which is open from 10:00 am to 2:30 pm. Members of the public are also welcome. Refreshments provided by Alnwick’s Olive Branch café will be available throughout the day.

For further information contact Philip Angier (philip@northtourismfair.co.uk - tel: 07971162623) or visit the event website – www.northtourismfair.co.uk

Background

Tourism is critical component of Northumberland’s regional economy. In 2016 (the last year for which figures are available) the county attracted almost 10 million visitors bringing an estimated £852million to the local economy.

Overnight visitors spent an average of £234 per trip and day visitors £29.

All of this activity contributed to an increase of 2% in employment in the sector to 11,785 jobs.

The Annual Tourism Fairs are an opportunity to raise the profile of the tourism industry in Northumberland. They serve the many B & B and holiday let providers around the county, visitor attractions and local service providers to the tourism industry.

Further Information available from:

Philip Angier : philip@northtourismfair.co.uk 07971 162623 / 07894 402766

Event website : www.northtourismfair.co.uk

Images available on request