The North East has been chosen for the first regional tourism pilot receiving £2.25 million from national government covering a period to March 2025. The partnership will be led by NGI on behalf of the region, working alongside Visit Northumberland and Visit County Durham.
This is a regional collaboration and incredible opportunity to unlock our growth and the untapped potential in the North East of England, attracting more visitors, creating new experiences, targeting new markets as well as creating jobs and opportunity.
The region will act as blueprint for the rest of England, and we will help shape the future landscape of destination management organisations, delivering local economic growth through the visitor economy across all seven local authorities.
Sarah Green, Chief Executive, Newcastle Gateshead Initiative said:
“This pilot as is an incredible opportunity to unlock our growth potential in the North East, attracting more visitors, creating jobs, growing businesses, attracting investment, and reinforcing local pride in our place.
“As the first Destination Development Partnership, we will work with our partners in Visit County Durham and Visit Northumberland to ensure the tourism sector is supported and grows across all seven local authorities in the region. Our region will act as blueprint for the rest of the UK, and we could not be prouder to help shape the future landscape of destination management organisations, working in partnership to deliver local economic growth through the visitor economy.
“From Auckland Castle to Alnwick Gardens, from dark skies to sparkly venues, from fish and chips to fine dining – the aim of this partnership is to provide a welcome for all, attracting more international and domestic tourists with a fantastic offer, followed by a great visitor experience.”
Ian Thomas, Destination Director, Newcastle Gateshead Initiative 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 4th 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.
“We look forward to working in partnership with Visit Northumberland, Visit County Durham and alongside local authorities and the private sector to attract more visitors, create new experiences and secure future investment and jobs for our region.”
Dr Henry Kippin, Chief Executive, North of Tyne Combined Authority said:
“This funding will play a critical role in the growth of our regional visitor economy, providing visitors with the best experience and supporting tourism and hospitality businesses to thrive.
“Our region’s ability to work collaboratively to deliver a shared vision will ensure our destination remains sustainable, competitive, and responsive to challenges such as skills, accessibility, sustainability, and levelling up. It will strengthen our combined offer as a region and build on our ambitions for an inclusive and dynamic economy, creating jobs, opportunities, and unique visitor experiences for all. On behalf of North of Tyne and our local authorities, we look forward to working in partnership to drive inclusive growth across the visitor economy.”
Comment from Patrick Melia, Head of Paid Service for the North East Combined Authority (NECA)
“Tourism and the visitor economy are hugely important to the North East so we’re delighted our region has been chosen to pilot this initiative. We have some incredible assets as a region, from historic attractions and world heritage sites to swathes of green space and our wonderful coastline with its award-winning beaches.
“We’re really looking forward to working closely with the DCMS and partners on this opportunity to showcase the very best our region has to offer.”
Andrew Fox, Chair of Visit Northumberland, said:
“We welcome the opportunity the North East Destination Development Partnership brings to work closely as strategic partners of Visit Britain. We are excited by the opportunities the pilot brings to Northumberland and the north east visitor economy and look forward to working even more closely with our regional partners to identify and create the platforms for strategic interventions that will create a more sustainable visitor economy for the future.”
Ivor Stolliday, Chair of Visit County Durham Limited, said:
“We are delighted the North East has been selected to pilot England’s first Destination Development Partnership. Our region is vast and varied, with spectacular countryside and coastline, award-winning attractions, rich heritage, vibrant cities and world-class festivals and events. We also have huge untapped potential and the capacity for further sustainable growth. At Visit County Durham, partnership is at the heart of what we do, and we relish this opportunity to work with partners across the region to achieve our bold ambitions together.”
Cllr Elizabeth Scott, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for economy and partnerships, said:
“We are delighted to have been successful in our bid to pilot a new partnership approach for the North East. The visitor economy is key, and by working together we can maximise its potential; attracting new investment, developing skills and jobs, and highlighting the visitor offer on a national stage.
“The scheme will help showcase the vast and dynamic cultural offer we have in County Durham as the culture county, attracting more visitors and further raising our profile on an international level. It will also connect the county to the wider region, providing a boost to the visitor economy and creating further opportunities for inward investment.”