Leaders to kick off football fan tourism boost

NORTH East leaders have vowed to leave old Tyne-Wear rivalries behind and use the region's football feel-good factor to attract more tourists.

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Next season will be the first time since 2016 that both Newcastle and Sunderland have been together in the Premier League, after a joyful few months that has seen the Magpies win the Carabao Cup and secure Champions League qualification and the Black Cats win a promotion back to the top flight in a dramatic play-off final at Wembley.

And the growing tourism industry surrounding the world's most-watched football league is one of the areas politicians are keen to capitalise on as they bid to double the number of visitors coming to the North East over the next decade. Latest figures estimate that 68.4 million people came to the region in 2024, slightly down from 69 million the year before.

While tourism is worth over £6.6 billion a year to the North East, it has the lowest number of both domestic and international visitors of anywhere in England.