North East England Enjoying Rising Tourism Business And Upswing In Economy
New wave of business for North East Tourism industry
Tourism businesses across North East England are seeing an upsurge in business on the back of major events in the region.
The weekend of the Great North Run in September saw the revenue per available rooms (RevPAR) for the region’s hotels, triple in value compared to the weekends before the event. The RevPAR for the day of the run was just over £108 compared to £59 the weekend before.
The Tall Ships Races are set to bring new business and one million people to the region.And next year’s events programme is already having a positive impact on the region’s tourism industry with hotels already taking bookings for the week of The Tall Ships Races in Hartlepool. Occupancy levels for the first day of the event on August 7th currently stand at 34%.
The Tall Ships Races are set to bring one million people to the region and will welcome more than 100 ships to the marina at Hartlepool as the town becomes the finishing point for this prestigious race.
Figures, released by regional development agency One North East, also show that forward bookings for a number of months in 2010 are already up on this time in 2008.
The news comes as national tourism agency VisitEngland revealed that 72% of UK residents said they would be taking a holiday in the UK in 2010, continuing the 2009 trend of the “staycation.”
And in a recent “How’s Business” survey, also conducted by One North East, a third of tourism businesses across the region said they were confident that business in the last few months of 2009 would be up on the same period in 2008.
More than half of those questioned said that business was up over the summer compared to last year, with 35% claiming the recession had actually had a positive impact on their business, as more people looked to holiday closer to home.
Businesses were also given the opportunity to say what they believed had led to an increase in performance with the most common answers including: people holidaying at home; an increase in marketing by the business and repeat business.
Attractions were particularly positive about the summer months with 76% reporting an increase in visitor numbers between July and September. And almost a ¼ of those asked are predicting business will be up in 2010 on this year.
Alan Clarke, chief executive at One North East, said: “This year has been a challenging year for many businesses so it is fantastic to see such confidence amongst the region’s tourism industry.
“Our figures show that for many the summer of 2009 has been a record year, particularly for self-catering properties, and it is encouraging that businesses expect this trend to continue for the rest of the year.
“One North East’s promotional activity this year aimed to take advantage of the ‘staycation’ trend and with this trend set to continue in 2010 we need to ensure we continue to do all we can to bring more visitors to the region.
“The Tall Ships Races is just one example of the fantastic events which will have a positive impact on the region’s economy and it is exciting to see so many people already planning their trip to the region for the event.”
Topics: 2009, business, Economy, England, marina, revenue, RevPAR, Tall Ships Races, tourism, United Kingdom
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