Region warned of backlash in plan to boost tourism

A new tourism strategy for the North East was launched at Newcastle Cathedral

Cultural leaders have laid out plans to double a region's tourists by 2034 without damaging the environment, heritage or local communities.

But they have been warned a boost to the North East's £6.1bn tourism industry must not spark a public backlash.

Plans would include capitalising on growing demand for more sustainable holiday destinations from travellers conscious of their carbon footprint.

At the event at Newcastle Cathedral on Monday, Destination North East England chair John Marshall set out a need to avoid the "resentment" and protests caused by over-tourism.

He said: "We want to grow the benefits of tourism without losing the unique identity and environment that makes the region so special."

'No international profile'

The meeting heard while about 69 million people visited the region in 2023, the North East sat bottom of the league tables for both domestic and international tourist spending in the UK.

It recorded 459,000 international visits, bringing a £360m spend, by far the lowest in the country, according to Visit Britain.

Durham County Council leader Amanda Hopgood told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the North East lacked the national or international profile it should have and needed to "go to the right audiences".

The Liberal Democrat councillor, who leads on tourism issues in the new North East Combined Authority, said: "We want to increase [tourism], but we want to do that in an environmentally sustainable way and to do it with our residents instead of to them."

No quick fix

Spikes in visitor numbers to popular spots like the Northumberland seaside village of Seahouses have already led to complaints of travel chaos and people being priced out of living locally due to the surge in holiday lets.

Hopgood warned that she did not want "areas to be overrun and residents feeling like strangers".

A major uplift in tourism would require a significant boost to public transport capacity, hotel availability, and other infrastructure.

North East mayor Kim McGuinness admitted that such efforts, like the extension of the Tyne and Wear Metro system, had no quick fix.

"We can't think in one-year, two-year, five-year cycles - that is where we have failed before, that is why Levelling Up failed," she said.