AS the first visitors poured through the doors of The Sage last night, leading figures from the North-East's cultural community predicted the showpiece attraction would have a multi-million pound impact on the region's tourism industry.

After opening to the public yesterday afternoon, the gleaming symbol of the region's regeneration is expected to attract 15,000 visitors this weekend, mainly local people curious to see inside the £70m music centre on Gateshead's Quayside.

The first visitors were treated to a spectacular light show and the chance to enjoy music as varied as the Northern Sinfonia, rock band Maximo Park and Northumbria piper Kathryn Tickell.

However, those responsible for the regeneration of the region's economy expect up to 600,000 visitors during the coming year, a significant proportion of them coming from outside the region.

The building is already fully booked for conferences for the next year with several high profie events, including the World Music Trade Fair, likely to attract a considerable number of visitors to Tyneside, where hotel occupancy rates have reached 80 per cent.

Andrew Dixon, executive director at the Arts Council, said the experience at the nearby Baltic arts centre has been that one in four of visitors had come from outside the region, five per cent from abroad and 20 per cent from elsewhere in the UK.

Similar figures were likely for the new addition to the Tyneside landscape.

John Holmes, director of regeneration and tourism for the development agency OneNorthEast, said: "In terms of tourism, we have been going from strength to strength in the region in recent years.

"Even before the opening of The Sage, visitor numbers have gone up by 16 per cent year on year, which is above the national average, but this is the icing on the cake."

Mr Holmes said that, as well as bringing tourist spend to Tyneside, the increase in tourist numbers, in part spurred by the opening of The Sage, was likely to have an effect across the wider North-East.

Durham County Council's deputy chief executive Mark Lloyd said The Sage would provide a tremendous boost for the region's economy.

He said: "The Sage Gateshead will provide a world-class stage where young people from across the region can perform and that will help raise their aspirations for the future.

"And, of course, its wonderful architecture on the banks of the Tyne will act as yet another draw for tourists to the North-East, who will be spending their money in bed and breakfasts, hotels, taxis, petrol stations, shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants right across the region."