With tourism contributing £6.6 billion to the North East economy and supporting nearly 63,000 jobs, the sector is of vital importance to the regional economy.
With The Mercury Prize recently announcing that it will be again returning to the North East in 2026, it goes to show that our amazing region has many positives.
Data from the North East Combined Authority’s Evidence Hub shows that the visitor economy includes food and beverages, accommodation, travel, and local attractions. In 2024, visitors contributed over £2.6 billion to the North East economy, mainly from UK day trips and overnight stays, with a smaller share from overseas visitors. In 2024 about 7.5% of employment in the North East was in hospitality, 1.5% in cultural and sporting activities, and 1.3% in transport and travel activities.
Tourism related activities accounted for over 10% of employment, with hospitality contributing £1.3 billion to GVA and travel services adding £330 million.
In Tees Valley itself (which includes Middlesbrough, Stockton, Hartlepool, Darlington and Redcar & Cleveland), tourism and visitor spending generated **around **£1.3 billion–£1.4 billion in economic impact (day visits + overnight stays) in 2023–2024. This visitor economy directly supported over 10,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the region.
If you are involved in 'tourism' (travel and transport, hospitality, heritage organisations, theatres and museums, education and skills providers, place based organisations, funders and policy stakeholders), join us for a focussed discussion with peers on how we can overcome the challenges.
We are stronger, together.
Agenda
- 09:30 Registration
- 09:45 Introductions around the room and framing
- 10:00 Open discussion: Barriers and challenges for the sector in the North East
- 10:40 Break
- 10:50 Open discussion: Overcoming shared barriers and challenges together
- 11:20 Next steps
Dress code: We don’t stipulate a dress code at our events, but we’d recommend you dress like you’re going to meet new clients. The most important this is that you're comfortable.
Behaviour & Conduct: Our events create an inclusive space for individuals and organisations to meet where we expect all our attendees to behave with courtesy and respect, to both each other and Chamber colleagues.
