North East independent tourism operators are missing an opportunity to work together to unlock the region's potential, a key hotelier has said.
James O'Donnell, head of commercial development at Northumberland's Walwick Estate Group which includes boutique hotel Walwick Hall, luxury self catering accommodation Chesters Stables and nearby Grade II-listed Matfen Hall, says the region's independent hotel, restaurant and attraction operators must "be bold" and join up to champion its selling points, both for domestic tourists and particularly for US visitors. Speaking to BusinessLive in the wake of a newly finished multimillion-pound redevelopment of Matfen Hall, Mr O'Donnell said the North East has some "fantastic operators" and there is room for more that could help to fuel interest among holidaymakers.
He said: "I think we need to get into a mentality about a joined up approach, which is about promoting the great produce in the area, the great restaurants and the great hotels in the area, as well as all the wonderful things you can do while you're here. Northumberland is a great base to go and explore Northumberland, it's not just a stop-off point on the way to Scotland.
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He added: "There's an emerging food scene in this area that needs to be jumped upon and really promoted. To have, some time in the very near future, five Michelin Star restaurants within a 25 mile radius is unreal."
One of the prizes for getting the pitch right could be an influx of international visitors, he said, but that would depend on connectivity, as Mr O'Donnell added: "It was a great shame the airport lost transatlantic flights a few years back. That would be hugely beneficial to get back.
"Newcastle's a very busy and popular airport with connections to a lot of places, which is good, but direct flights to America would be hugely beneficial to the tourism industry. We're 20 minutes from the airport, there's a big opportunity for us there, and we'd like to be a positive force in making that change."
Mr O'Donnell's calls follow recent figures which suggest tourism is now the North East's fourth largest sector, and for the first time since 2019 is worth more than £5bn to the regional economy. The figures, arrived at using the Scarborough Tourism Economic Assessment Model (STEAM) that uses local supply-side data and visitor survey data, point to a post-Covid bounce-back in the region.
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The progress has been hailed by destination and inward investment agency NGI, which also pointed to the sector supporting 58,000 jobs, and 14,000 more people being employed in tourism between 2021/22.
In that time, Walwick Estate Group, owned by True Potential entrepreneur David Harrison, poured millions into Matfen Hall - a move Mr O'Donnell describes as bold and one that has now set the venue up well to perform post-Covid.
He said: "Like everyone, we've had to navigate some pretty uncertain times. And we've probably added to the complexity by pretty much entirely changing our product offering at the same time - which means we're comparing Matfen with Matfen of old against the backdrop of Covid. But we feel we're moving in the right direction and there's a good level of business out there looking for something like Matfen. Truthfully, there's nothing like it, in terms of the style and level of service we aspire to, for a good 50 mile radius."
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