Who's Who in Tourism

Tourism Tyne & Wear

Tourism Tyne and Wear is the Area Tourism Partnership (ATP) for Tyne & Wear. This public and private sector partnership works on behalf of tourism businesses and public agencies to ensure that visitors enjoy the best possible experience when they visit the North East, and that the destinations within Tyne & Wear are promoted effectively to attract overnight and day visitors.

Effective partnerships

Tourism Tyne & Wear is not an organisation. It is a partnership. It aims to facilitate and encourage collaboration between all those involved in the tourism economy in order to expand the market and improve the visitor experience.

Located in the office of the NewcastleGateshead Initiative in Newcastle, Tourism Tyne and Wear works in partnership with NGI and the Local Authorities to deliver projects. It also collaborates with One NorthEast and other public sector agencies, and the private sector.

Services

Activities revolve around four key areas:

• Strategy and representation
• Marketing and information
• Business engagement/development
• Destination development

Strategy and representation

As the voice for the tourism industry in it's area, Tourism Tyne & Wear works closely with regional partners to influence local policies and makes representations for the industry at local, regional national and sometimes international level.

Marketing and information

Tourism Tyne & Wear produces new visitor information such as the 'Where to Stay Guide' & 'Shopping Guide' - the first to be produced covering all of Tyne & Wear. 'The Pocket Guide' and 'What's on Guide' which were previously NewcastleGateshead guides are now incorporating information from North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland, who also produce their own local Visitor Guides. Click here for Tourism Tyne and Wear marketing opportunities.

www.visitnewcastlegateshead.co.uk is the website developed by Tourism Tyne & Wear. Powered by Desti.ne it is one of the main portals for information on tourism businesses and events in the sub region.

Tourism Tyne & Wear also creates and delivers promotional campaigns to target specific markets and increase visitor numbers. The Irish campaign launched at the end of 2007 is looking to increase Irish visitors to the area by highlighting the abundance of sporting, shopping and nightlife opportunities visitors can take advantage of. The Attractions Pass which will be launched in British Tourism Week in May 2008 is aimed at increasing day visitors to all our attractions in the sub-region who offer some kind of a discount/concession.

Business engagement and development

A primary focus of Tourism Tyne & Wear is a commitment to improving the quality of the product on offer. They work with Visit Britain and the AA to increase the number of accommodation businesses benefiting from quality assessment before further engaging them with marketing and business development opportunities. There are many training and support opportunities for tourism businesses, use the contact section below for more information.

Destination development

Tourism Tyne & Wear is responsible for preparing and monitoring the Area Tourism Management Plan and helping to prioritise and develop projects that enhance the destination. They are currently working on a series of Gateway studies looking at the welcome visitors receive at entry points like the airport and port in Tyne & Wear. Legible Cities is a project that is looking to identify how people move around the area and the developments that can improve this experience. The recently completed Hotel Growth Study has looked at the gaps and challenges in hotel development across NewcastleGateshead and Sunderland. A similar study will be done along the coast in 2008.

To visit Tourism Tyne and Wear's website click here: www.tourismnortheast.co.uk/site/tourism-tyne-and-wear

Contacts