Columnist

Businesses - play your part in festive success!

Newcastle has upped its festive game and is in full Christmas mode.

This year, we have made significant progress in building the city’s Christmas offer in size and quality.

Festive lights and decorations adorn the city, and an entire Christmas village has been built around Grey’s Monument and Old Eldon Square, alongside new and improved Christmas markets.

There is a huge appetite for Christmas celebrations globally, with Christmas markets a cherished holiday tradition attracting visitors of all ages and helping boost local economies.

Newcastle has a lot of untapped potential in the Christmas stakes.

To become a top-tier Christmas destination, attracting national and international visitors, we need the city’s entire business community to get involved in driving forward the city’s seasonal offer.

Christmas and New Year celebrations are crucial for businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure, and we are committed to creating and curating a high-quality, city-wide experience that celebrates and emphasises Newcastle’s key strengths and distinctive attributes while showcasing some of its most iconic and innovative businesses. 

Last year, more than 1,350,000 people visited the Newcastle markets, generating a total spend of nearly £57 million, which provided a huge economic boost to the city.

The markets have a strong regional pull, with 60 per cent of visitors travelling between five and 20 miles, but there is still enormous scope to widen the catchment and create an experience that attracts visitors from across the country and the world. 

This is not just possible but essential.

Christmas tourism is a crowded market.

Edinburgh tops the UK’s must-visit list, attracting more than two million visitors in 2023, with more than 52 per cent of visitors from outside the region, compared to only six per cent of Newcastle’s. 

We have been working with Newcastle City Council and local operators EVNT Inspirations to transform the city’s offer and put Newcastle on the Christmas map. 

Our efforts have delivered with this year’s Newcastle Christmas experience.

Christmas can never be just about the markets and Christmas village; to truly capitalise on the opportunity, we need the city’s entire business community to embrace the golden six weeks, helping raise Newcastle’s Christmas and New Year festivities to a level that justifiably warrants national and international acclaim.

This year is a huge step in the right direction, and we are delighted the New Year Fireworks are returning to the Quayside for the first time since 2019.

These are hugely important celebrations for the people of Newcastle, attracting huge crowds as well as shining the regional and national spotlight on Newcastle’s iconic Quayside.

We are committed to building on this year’s festivities, but to succeed we need all businesses to get around the table to help plan and play their part.

Stephen Patterson is chief executive of business improvement district company NE1 Ltd, which represents the interests of 1400 businesses in Newcastle city centre

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