Tourism in North East England is set to receive a significant boost with a £7 million investment from Mayor Kim McGuinness. The funding aims to propel the visitor economy to £10 billion by 2033, building on the current value of £7.13 billion, up from £5 billion in 2023 and £6.6 billion last year.
New Tourism Board Takes Over
The Newcastle Gateshead Initiative (NGI) has been replaced by Experience North East England (ENNE), which will oversee tourism across all seven local authorities in the region. ENNE interim chief executive Ian Thomas outlined four key pillars for the investment: inbound marketing, product development, strategic events, and partnerships.
Targeting International Visitors
ENNE is currently focusing on attracting travellers from Nordic countries, the Netherlands, and Germany. Long-term plans include drawing visitors from the USA, China, and the Middle East. A priority is leveraging the DFDS ferry connection between North Shields and Amsterdam, with efforts to keep visitors in the North East rather than heading to Scotland or the Lake District.
Ian Thomas noted: "We have seen a pickup in awareness. I don't think we have seen it come through in bookings, it will probably take a little bit of time to translate. A key part for us is stopping them turning right to Scotland."
Cycling and Infrastructure
Cyclists who bring bikes on the ferry are a key target group. Thomas added: "There's a lot of work we have to do and we have to put some of that cycling infrastructure, but we have got some massive unspoiled landscapes and real hills for people to have that real cycling experience that we have not brought enough into people's psyches yet."
Developing New Experiences
The investment will also support new experiences in partnership with travel industry businesses, strategic events like conferences and exhibitions, and collaborations with airlines such as easyJet, which opened a new base at Newcastle Airport in March. Thomas said: "We're developing new experiences across a number of themes to make bigger itineraries for people to come for three to five days to get value for money from their trip."
Year-Round Tourism
ENNE aims to shift from place-based marketing focused on individual cities to promoting the region as a whole. Thomas explained: "What we're trying to do is drive up to 365 days a year so the whole of the product of the offer of the region. You can base yourself in Newcastle but be in Durham in 10 minutes or South Shields in 25 on the Metro, but there's always something to do. Our job is to look at the low periods like a Sunday night or a Wednesday night in November and work out how we're going to make someone come at those times."
