A NEW mobile website has been launched to promote a county’s tourist offer.

The site, launched by Visit County Durham, includes lists of attractions, events, Durham Deals, online booking facilities for accommodation and more.

It has been designed for use on smartphones, including iPhone, Blackberry and android devices, and to complement the Durham Pocket Guide, now in its fifth year of publication.

Melanie Sensicle, chief executive of Visit County Durham, said: "With over 1,000 potential visitors logging on to thisisdurham.com every day the destination is experiencing a growing number of people accessing the website from a smartphone and we wanted to enhance the customer experience for these people."

Tourism is one of Durham’s fastest growing industries, currently worth £650m a year. The county attracts 18 million visitors annually.

Tourist information centres in Barnard Castle and Durham City were recently closed under budget cuts. An online Visitor Information Network was launched as a replacement.