Market Town Welcome is a programme managed by Miller Research on behalf of One NorthEast in partnership with Northumberland Strategic Partnership, Northumberland Tourism and County Durham Tourism Partnership (on behalf of Tourism Network North East).

The Market Town Welcome Programme in Northumberland will help our towns achieve their full potential as tourist destinations and prioritising investment in improvements to the town’s attractions and facilities.

Towns included in the first stage of the project are:

• Berwick-upon-Tweed
• Alnwick
• Amble
• Haltwhistle
• Seahouses
• Wooler

In addition, Barnard Castle, Durham, Guisborough and Stanhope will be kept informed of the process, to enable initial awareness raising and to support a separate piece of work at a later date.

Each town has the potential to attract more visitors spending more money throughout the year, supporting more businesses and jobs. What is your vision for your town, and how will we get there?

By the end of March each town will have produced a destination plan which should identify investment opportunities for businesses, entrepreneurs, and the public sector. Perhaps you could benefit from being involved? How successful each town is in attracting investment, particularly from the public sector, will depend on the strength of the arguments it makes.

While there are no guarantees on attracting investment, the work will certainly help Northumberland Tourism and others improve their marketing of each town. It will also help Northumberland Tourism and the Northumberland Strategic Partnership fight our corner for future investment. We need a strong case for each town - we're in a competitive environment.

Further updates will be posted on this site as the study develops and will provide you with a way of informing us of your opinions on how ‘visitor friendly’ your town is.