Tourism in the Northumberland is a flourishing business and the figures are suggestive of the fact.

The figures released from International Passenger Survey shows that Northumberland has seen tourist spending increase a third, year on year. Tourists spent £14m in 2005 and it dramatically rose to £19m the following year. Similar rise is expected for 2007 as well.

The county seems to have attracted international visitors more than the domestic ones. It recorded 74,000 last year as compared to 56,000, the year before. It included 344,000 overnight stays last year which is an increase of 11%.

The county's tourism stands on quite a few attractions which are finding popularity among thousands of visitors. Some popular ones include Alnwick Castle and Garden, Bamburgh Castle, Farne Islands, Hadrian's Wall among others.

Tom Wright, VisitBritain’s CEO said - "Despite competition from overseas destinations, Northumberland's tourism businesses can be rightly proud of this magnificent achievement. The key thing is to build on that success. Tourism is tremendously important to the county's economy, and local businesses need to do all they can to maintain and sharpen their competitive edge."