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John Anderson CBE, Chairman of the North East BIC comments on tourism-related regional business

I was delighted this week to see positive figures released on the recent performance of the UK tourism industry, with almost 3 million visitors coming to British shores in June alone.

For tourism-related businesses in the North East, it’s a wider confirmation of what we saw in our own markets: The amazing events that the region has recently staged, particularly the five sell-out concerts at the Stadium of Light, provided a huge influx of tourists from outside of the region, and a huge boost for regional enterprise, in terms of both sales and confidence.

It is testament to the hard work of Gary Hutchinson, head of venue and events at Sunderland AFC, and his team, who have worked tirelessly with a range of organisations from across the region (by no means just those in Sunderland) to guarantee the success of the concerts: Nexus were on board to bring people in and out via the Metro system, NGI provided links with hotels in Newcastle, key relations in Durham and Northumberland were involved in dispersing people.

“We need the rest of the region to make Sunderland events successful,” Gay tells me. Well congratulations on a job well done.

Look out for the upcoming issue of the North East BIC’s magazine, The Innovator, which will feature a full interview with Gary, and explore the detailed impact of the summer concerts. Available early September. www.ne-bic.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by John Anderson CBE .