February 2016 sees the launch of Agent North, a new online training programme designed to inspire and educate overseas travel agents and tour operators about Northern England’s tourism destinations. By late summer, 13,000 travel agents in North America, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and China will be licenced to thrill, having completed their course and received their ‘Agent North’ certificate.
Agent North features tourism businesses with bookable and commissionable products across the North East, North West and Yorkshire and Humberside. It is one of the main activities to be delivered through the Northern Tourism Growth Fund (NTGF), and will be distributed online by trade specialists Travelport, a world-wide travel commerce platform.
The online training kit is available at www.agent-north.com and www.agent-north.com/au translations are currently taking place on the sites for Germany, The Netherlands and China which go live this month.
Sally Balcombe, CEO of VisitBritain said: “Agent North is a crucial part of our North of England marketing programme designed to inspire and educate travel agents and tour operators to help them promote and importantly book holidays in Northern England. The training programme includes the North’s world-class attractions and events as well as smaller tourism businesses, all offering commission on bookings.”
Local businesses set to benefit from Agent North include: Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle and Cragside in Northumberland; Durham Cathedral, The Bowes Museum and Raby Castle in Durham; and Souter Lighthouse in Whitburn and Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle.
Michelle Gorman, managing director of Visit County Durham, said: “Being part of the Agent North programme will raise awareness of tourism businesses and result in bookings from the US, Australia, China, Germany and Holland. By working in partnership across the North through the NTGF Partnership, we’re reaching out to international markets in a more joined-up and cohesive way.’
A valuable asset to the Agent North programme is the online toolkit, containing maps, a full image library, an extensive range of North of England itineraries, as well as 150 bookable products. As an extra incentive to complete the training, the partner destinations in the North of England are offering a seven-night holiday for two people in a destination of their choice, including return flights. The prize will be drawn on 30 June and the winner will be notified by email.
The Northern Tourism Growth Fund will deliver an additional 3,000 jobs and £177m incremental spend.