Panel grows for live event at rooftop restaurant on Feb 12

Seats are free, but limited, so to reserve yours, CLICK HERE, and go to the ‘Reserve a spot’ button.

Alongside Huw, the panel on the 12th will include:

• Michelle Gorman of Visit County Durham
• Hayley Farrell of Cummins Europe
• Phil Saunders from Tees Valley Combined Authority
• Lisa Laws from North East Screen
• Alice Grace Fuller from Generator
• Jo Elliott from our hosts Pneuma Group
• Dr. Laura Sillars from MIMA, the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art

SIX is on top of the Baltic Centre (Image: Mike Hughes)

Huw told us: “Collaboration is one thing that makes the North East great, and that is never more true than in the cultural and tourism sectors.  The great benefit of devolution is that we can make decisions on what we fund and how we fund it close to home. Roundtables like this and the chance to listen and share great ideas are crucial to delivering Mayor Kim’s ambitious plans.

“The North East can and should be a much bigger draw for tourists because we have the natural beauty, the rich history and the modern vibrant creative sector to welcome the world in. The numbers we are attracting for overnight stays have generally held steady, but the weekend break market has been tough in the last year and actually we should be talking about growth, not standing still.  

Huw Lewis (Image: NECA)

“As a strategic authority we want to double the value of the tourism sector as part of our 10-year Growth Plan. We will do that by marketing our region as a region for the first time in 15 years, building international markets and drawing links between the very strong individual offers we have in Northumberland, Durham, Sunderland and Newcastle. 

“We need to raise our game and that’s why plans for local areas to be able to raise a small levy on each visitor which can be re-invested in things like festivals and events will be so important in creating jobs and growing tourism businesses.

“We are investing in the talented creative people in our region through a number of channels. For example the Mayor’s Events and Festivals fund this year backed 11 different providers ranging from a DJ who brings dance music nights to working men’s clubs in North Shields through to the Yule Gathering at Northumberland’s award-winning Ad Gefrin visitor attraction.

“Through North East Screen we are also supporting programmes for digital content creators in partnership with the BBC. We have a further £25m set aside to invest over the coming years and we’ll be engaging with creative practitioners in the coming weeks over how best we use that money, because the cultural sector itself knows best.

“And of course we are investing in the infrastructure of culture with funding for a new national centre for writing, a major label record studio in Newcastle and the Crownworks film studio site on Sunderland Riverside. 

“The Combined Authority’s cabinet is set to discuss plans to create a Mayoral Creative Development Zone in Sunderland which will speed up development and investment in what is already the most fast-moving city in the North of England.”

Whether you work in tourism, the creative industries or simply have a passion for the North East’s cultural landscape, this is your chance to join the conversation and have plenty of time to network and build valuable connections. Just click the link at the top of this story and have your say.