ALMOST 800 new jobs could be created in Northumberland over the next three years under “challenging” plans to further grow the county’s vital visitor industry, it is claimed.

Tourism already ploughs about £706m a year into the county’s economy, and in 2011 visitor numbers hit 9.1m – a 2% increase on the previous year.

Now officials at Northumberland Tourism, supported by the county council, have set a target of achieving a further 6% growth in the visitor economy between now and 2016.

That would generate an additional £42m in visitor spending power for the local economy, and create an extra 795 jobs, it is claimed.

Officials admit that the targets are challenging, but say tourism is critical to Northumberland and continues to offer a great opportunity for the county.

Five months ago VisitEngland announced that Northumberland is now the third most loved holiday destination in England, raising hopes that this can be converted into real benefits for the local economy.

The targets are set out in a report to county councillors next week, which also outlines how the authority will support Northumberland Tourism’s business plan aim of a 6% growth in the visitor economy.

Yesterday Jeff Sutheran, who chairs the North Northumberland Tourism Association, said the visitor industry had been through a difficult time since funding from One NorthEast evaporated, and the strategic marketing role of Northumberland Tourism was “absolutely imperative”.

“Challenging is probably a fair word to describe these new targets but what we in the industry realise is that if we can get every visitor to spend an extra fiver while they are here, we are well on the way to delivering these numbers,” he said. “Increasing existing visitor spend, together with strategic marketing of Northumberland to bring new visitors, means it is challenging but doable, and we are very optimistic.”

The county council says it will give financial support to a range of tourism organisations, such as Kielder Water and Forest Park Development Trust and Northumberland Tourism.

It will support the delivery of key activities such as tourism fairs, strategic events and marketing, and help bring forward major strategic projects such as the Northumberlandia earth sculpture.

Culture, leisure and tourism officer, Claire Mason, says in the report to councillors: “The underpinning aims of this framework are to raise the profile of Northumberland as a place to visit, attract visitors to the county, encourage them to spend more during their visit and support the sustainability of local businesses, attractions and producers.”

Economic data for 2011 shows that 9.1m people visited Northumberland, a 2% increase on 2010.

Visitor spending was £706m, up 3% on the previous year, and the number of people directly employed in tourism in Northumberland was more than 11,000, up 6% on 2010.

Overnight visitors spent £452m while in Northumberland, up 3% on 2010, and spending by day visitors increased by the same percentage to £253m.

The report to next week’s committee says while the data for 2012 is not yet available, there are some indications that the growth experienced in 2011 will not be sustained, reflecting a national trend.