THE North-East will benefit from a £3m boost when the National Union of Teachers hosts its annual conference this weekend.

The event, at the Sage music centre, in Gateshead, which is one of the biggest in the conference calendar, will attract more than 1,500 delegates, partners and journalists to Tyneside.

It is believed the conference will boost the local economy by far more than conservative estimates made in 2003.

It was initially thought that the conference would generate £2m, but the figure could now be £3m.

Newcastle/Gateshead Initiative commercial director Ian Taylor said: "The timing of this conference is fantastic, presenting delegates with great opportunities to sample some of the many activities and events taking place in Newcastle/Gateshead during the Easter holiday.

"Experience demonstrates that many of these delegates will return at a later date as leisure tourists on the strength of their first visit, so there really could not be a better time for them to come."

The conference is only one of a number of high-profile education events heading to Newcastle and Gateshead in the months ahead.

In January next year, the North-East of England Education Conference will take place, followed by a conference organised by the Association of Lecturers and Teachers event in April that year.

Mr Taylor said: "This is confirmation of Newcastle/ Gateshead's growing reputation as a centre of excellence for hosting high-profile events in the field of education.

"A conference like the NUT's, which is already attracting a lot of media attention in the run-up to the General Election, is bound to help put the spotlight on Newcastle/Gateshead following the profile-raising Labour Party's Spring Conference in February."

The region's conference industry in Newcastle and Gateshead is worth more than £72m.

By the end of this year, the figure is set to increase to £100m, with more businesses realising the city has a world-class cultural infrastructure and stunning scenery on its doorstep.