Our co-founder, Alex, moved from Germany in 2004 with the intent to bring more visitors to North East England. After a successful time at university and also qualifying as a Blue Badge tourist guide, he set about starting his own business. Northern Secrets, an inbound tour operator, was born.
Paul, our second co-founder, established a business in Liverpool (LDSL) to help increase inbound travel and work with cruise lines coming into the city. LDSL goes from strength to strength becoming the strategic partner of several cruise companies in Liverpool, Holyhead and Newcastle. This is how Alex met Paul (really thanks to Disney & one of their ships)...
2012-2017 - NORTHERN SECRETS CONTINUES TO GROW
During the mid 2010s Northern Secrets has built a base of trade partners throughout Europe and is slowly moving into the cruise market in Newcastle, helping LDSL during some of the larger cruise calls to the city. It does not take long until both Paul and Alex realise the synergies between East and West and their work...
2017 - OUR STORY EVOLVES: EXPERIENCE NORTH LTD
After short deliberation, both friends, Alex and Paul, decided it made perfect sense to create a company together to look after cruise lines visiting the Northern England ports - LDSL re-brands as Experience North with Alex & Paul as the new directors. Northern Secrets continues as an inbound tours & travel company only, passing Destination Management to the new company.
2018 - STRATEGIES LEAD TO BRANDS
Experience North quickly establishes itself as the leading partner for cruise in Northern England and also as a strategic partner for inbound B2B (business-to-business) travel arrangements. This also generated & accelerated the plan to create B2C (business-to-consumer) brands for private tours in North West & North East England.
2018 - LIVERPOOL TOUR COMPANY
Liverpool Tour Company was born out of a thought. Both Paul and Alex were (and are) convinced that the world is changing and shifting with consumers moving towards smaller groups, more authentic tour activities & experiential travel... This is what Liverpool Tour Company should come to represent & stand for.
2018 - NEWCASTLE TOUR COMPANY
Newcastle Tour Company stands for that same ethos. Create memorable & authentic experiences for our customers visiting North East England. It is very much a more towards quality & that private, exclusive feel for our guests. Both consumer brands offer only private day tours and experiences as well as small group multi-day travel arrangements.
2020 - COVID-19 & CHANGE
COVID-19 and the pandemic of 2020 has changed the world - it gave Experience North, Newcastle/Liverpool Tour Company time to reflect & update business practices and create a better customer journey from browsing, booking & planning to the final tour experience. Health & safety protocols are constantly updated to keep you safe and healthy during all experiences offered.
2020 - ECOLOGI & THE STRIVE TO BECOME GREEN
Newcastle Tour Company (Experience North & Liverpool Tour Company) is proud to support Ecologi & The Eden Projects in their tree planting projects. We signed up to Ecologi in July 2020 funding Gold Standard climate projects to offset our entire carbon footprint. Every employed team member of Experience North Ltd (Newcastle/Liverpool Tour Company) offsets their entire carbon footprint, including emissions from homes, personal travel, holidays, food, hobbies & more.
