How the North East is in the business of creating business

Oct 14 2008 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

The Tyne decamped to the Thames recently in a bid to boost business tourism in the region, Peter McCusker reports.

WHEN London-based conference organiser Barbara Brookes set up one of her first events in the region in 1985 she struggled to find a suitable venue and ended up using a basement room in Newcastle Civic Centre.

Twenty years later the venue for the National Union of Teachers 2005 annual conference – which she helped organise and which had 1,500 delegates – was the Sage Gateshead.

Ms Brookes, of Educational Events, says the change in the region over that period of time has been “amazing”.

“The North East has gone to great lengths to create something special and they have now really achieved that.

“It is one of the best places to come to. It’s incredible how the region has moved on.”

In the last few years the NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI) has gone to great lengths to promote the region as a destination for conferences and exhibitions.

In the last five years there has been a 60% growth in revenue from the conference and exhibition market, which is making a significant difference to the regional economy. And last week NGI took over 20 North East tourism and conference-related businesses down to Canary Wharf to spread its message – Discover NewcastleGateshead – and secure further business.

Andrew Dixon, chief executive of NGI, said: “It’s a great opportunity for conference organisers to come and see what the region has to offer. It’s a competitive market and an event like this puts us right at the forefront of people’s minds when they come to make these crucial decisions.”

More than 100 key decision makers made it through the doors of the East Wintergarden right in the heart of Canary Wharf.

Jessica Roberts, head of business tourism at NGI, which includes NGI’s conference bureau, said: “It was an absolutely brilliant evening.”

Attendees included corporate agents for conference organisers, some major trade associations and members of the trade press.”

Ms Roberts continued: “It was an opportunity to really raise the profile of the whole of the region. The message is getting through. Five years ago when we initiated this drive many people did not know about the strength of Newcastle and Gateshead, it was foreign to them, but that has now changed for the better.”

Guy Hilton, general manger of the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead, helped staff the hotel’s stand at the event.

Mr Hilton, who is also chairman of the Tyne and Wear area tourism partnership, said: “The North East is undergoing an incredible journey. The great thing about Newcastle and Gateshead for conference organisers is the diversity and range of facilities we have.”

Recent figures for the region, as reported in The Journal, show that 30% of all tourism is business or conference related.

Almost 50% of these visitors have never visited the region before and in many cases they are so impressed by the region that they return for leisure breaks or may even decide to work here. It is estimated that each business visitor brings £150 a night into the city.

After five years of marketing Newcastle and Gateshead NGI this year decided to make the London event a regional one and those attending included The Alnwick Garden and the Radisson SAS, which will open in Durham next month.

Its director of sales and marketing Nikki Banner said: “It proved to be a very worthwhile event. The level of interest in what we had to offer was very high. I was very impressed with what NGI had put together to market the region.”

But NGI is not one to rest on its laurels and Mr Dixon says the time is now right to for Newcastle Gateshead to create its own bespoke conference and exhibition venue.

“We are now in the premier league of conference destinations. A designated conference and exhibition centre would place us right at the top.”