North East England is on cloud nine

As the region gears up to welcome thousands of visitors to the 21st Sunderland International Airshow this weekend, latest figures released by One North East show occupancy levels and visitor numbers to attractions are up on last year.

The results for April to June 2009 show that room occupancy levels across the region are up by 5% on the same period in 2008.

B&Bs and Guesthouses have seen the largest growth in occupancy with an average of 56%, an increase of 11% on last year.

And self-catering properties across the region have also had a good start to the summer with an increase in occupancy of 10% from 56% to 66%. And for hotels the May Bank Holidays were a particularly busy period with the average room occupancy for the first of the two Bank Holidays up from 72% to 75% and for the second an increase of 10% from 71% to 81%.

These results come on the back of a report released earlier this year which showed North East England was the only region outside of London to have seen a growth in visitor numbers in 2008. The United Kingdom Tourism Survey, commissioned by national tourism body VisitBritain, showed visitors numbers were up by 10% with more than four million people visiting the region.

And it’s not just accommodation providers who have been doing well a number of the region’s attractions have also seen their visitor numbers soar during April to June.

The Empire Theatre in Sunderland, which has welcomed a number of West End shows to the region including Starlight Express and the Wizard of Oz, saw its ticket sales in April, May and June go up by 89% on last year.

The region’s English Heritage properties have also seen a 25% increase in visitor numbers with key sites like Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens and Housesteads Roman Fort all reporting a significant increase in numbers. There has also been a 50% increase in membership for English Heritage across the board.

Stacy Hall, Director of Communications & Tourism at One North East said: “The increase in occupancy and number of visitors to attractions is great news for the region. It not only demonstrates the quality of the offer in North East England but also the variety of things available to do for visitors.

“As the trend for the ‘staycation’ continues we hope more people will discover North East England this summer.”

Nicola Bexon, English Heritage marketing manager for the north of England said: “A combination of factors have contributed to this upturn in visitors, the beautiful weather, excellent events and bumper visitor numbers on the bank holidays, the strong Euro, new developments at our properties mean people are holidaying in the UK or looking for good value and good quality days out closer to home.

“The surge in English Heritage membership reflects the fact that it gives access to over 100 sites in the north and over 400 English Heritage sites nationwide, and this really appeals to people who are deciding to holiday at home this year.”

The Sunderland International Airshow attracts up to one million visitors to the region every year and will be held on Saturday and Sunday. Now the biggest free airshow in Europe the show will feature front line jets, vintage aircraft, a parachute display team and aerobatic teams. The spectacular Red Arrows will be back again this year at 12noon on both days to give an amazing display of aerobatics and precision flying.

For more information on this or any other events in the region go to visitnortheastengland.com .