Visitor economy across region now worth £6bn

THE North East's visitor economy is now worth a reported £6bn to the region, but visitor numbers fell slightly last year, according to newly collated data.

- TOM KEIGHLEY

Around 68.4m people came to the region in 2024, down from 69m the year before, according to STEAM (Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor) modelling.

But tourism officials point to a modest rise in the number of overnight stays to 7.8m, compared with pre-pandemic levels in 2019 of 7.5m.

Three years ago, the North East - which often falls behind regional competitors when it comes to the visitor economy - was chosen to host England's first Destination Development Partnership pilot.

The programme aimed to streamline tourism boards and gave Destination North East England an initial £2.25m to spend by March this year with the aim to grow the region's visitor economy by 6% in that time and double it within 10 years. The partnership led by NewcastleGateshead Initiative on behalf of the region received a new round of funding earlier this year, to continue its work.

Bosses attributed the rise in overnight stays to investment in new attractions, work with the travel industry and marketing in overseas markets such as India, the US and Nordic countries.