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North East tourism industry gets ready for year of bumper growth in 2015; Newcastle is one of the most popular UK destinations with overseas travellers, Visit Britain survey reveals.

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Byline: Rachel Wearmouth

Newcastle is one of the most popular destinations in the UK.

That was the findings of a key survey as the tourism industry prepares for bumper growth in 2015.

Visit Britain is forecasting tourism spend will rise by 4.5% next year across the UK with visitors from overseas expected to spend [pounds sterling]22.2bn -- an increase of almost [pounds sterling]1bn on 2014.

The upbeat outlook comes after the North East celebrated the best tourism figures since the onset of the 2008 recession this year.

The first six months of 2014 saw the highest number of visitors to this region for five years, with overseas tourists spending [pounds sterling]88m here.

Now, it is revealed Newcastle sits 19th on Visit Britain's most popular destinations with overseas travellers.

Figures released earlier this year showed spending rose by 25% in the first six months of the year and that people from the Netherlands, Germany and Ireland were the most likely to visit.

Sarah Stewart, Chief Executive of the Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, said: "This year, we've seen strong growth in the number of international visitors coming to Newcastle and Gateshead and the North East with figures for the first six months of 2014 at the highest levels since 2008; this alongside forecasts for further growth in 2015 from Visit Britain is extremely encouraging, as is their focus for 2015 on encouraging visitors to explore destinations outside of the capital.

"The North East has particularly strong appeal for international visitors interested in heritage and premier league football -- both of which rank highly as reasons for trips to the UK -- and it's great to see that the destination ranks amongst the top 20 most popular cities for global visitors.

"The recently-announced link from New York to Newcastle Airport provides further connectivity...

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