A scheme to put the North East at the forefront of a UK tourism drive could support 25,000 new jobs and bring millions of pounds to the regional economy.
It was revealed today that the region had been chosen to trial a new Government approach to promoting the tourism industry that aims to bring thousands more visitors to the UK and attract major sporting and cultural events. NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI), working with Visit Northumberland and Visit County Durham across the seven North East council areas, has received £2.25m to help market the region as a “must-visit destination”.
The programme aims to support more than 25,000 new jobs in the tourism sector and provide a 6% boost to the regional economy. It includes plans to improve skills in the area and provide support to individual tourism businesses, as well as finding ways to attract new visitors to the North East.
Read more : North East chosen for tourism pilot
Ian Thomas, destination director at NGI, said: “This pilot is a huge recognition of our potential to grow visitor numbers and spend and is testament to our growing business events offer, levelling up potential and ability to develop products and services for new markets.
“Our visitor economy is the fourth biggest regional employer and pre-covid contributed £5.2bn to GDP yet still receives the lowest number of domestic and international visitors and the lowest amount of spend of any region in England – the potential in our region is huge. By working together with Government, industry, and our partners we have demonstrated the opportunity in the North East and are now able to move forward with our bold ambitions to double the size of the visitor economy.”
VisitEngland director Andrew Stokes said: “Congratulations to the North East on being announced as the pilot region for the Destination Development Partnership.
“The UK Government’s decision to proceed with a pilot approach is a valuable opportunity to prove the DDP concept, demonstrating the benefits that these reforms will have if rolled out nationwide. We will also be able to really measure an element of funding at a regional level to develop tourism and what impact that will have, strengthening the case for future funding.
“We look forward to working with NewcastleGateshead Initiative and Northumberland and Durham tourism boards to develop the DDP pilot, ensuring we have the right infrastructure in place to enable England to continue to be a compelling destination for domestic and international visitors.”
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