When £1m was spent on a television advert to lure visitor s to the region, it was a bold move. John Dean looks at whether the campaign was a hit.

IT was the boldest initiative ever to promote the North-East as somewhere for tourists to visit. The decision to use a glossy £1m television advert gave the region the type of treatment that has been so successful in attracting more tourists to Scotland.

And now, as the new season gets under way, the signs are that the initiative is starting to work.

The first TV advert to promote the region, which was directed by Adrian Moat, from North Shields, and funded by One NorthEast, was filmed at iconic locations and accompanied by atmospheric music.

Sites featured included the Angel of the North, Hadrian's Wall, Bamburgh Castle, in Northumberland, Durham Cathedral, Guisborough Priory, in east Cleveland, Newcastle and Gateshead.

The advert was launched earlier this year as part of One NorthEast's Passionate People, Passionate Places marketing campaign to improve the region's image.

The cost to produce the advert was £215,000, with the campaign having a budget of £998,000.

It was screened in selected ITV regions throughout the country, as well as on a range of satellite channels.

Stacy Hall, director of communications at One NorthEast, said: "We believe 20 million people have seen the advert and we are seeing an increasing number of people showing an interest in the region. We have already sent out 100,000 guides to the region and there has been a huge increase in people visiting our website."

Although quantifying the impact will not be possible until the main tourism season is over, there are early positive signs.

One of the areas to feel the benefit has been High Force waterfall, in Teesdale. After it featured in the advert, an unprecedented number of inquiries were received by Barnard Castle Tourist Information Centre.

Val Wilson, tourism manager, said: "Teesdale is very proud to be part of the North-East England marketing campaign and it has certainly been a great success from our point of view. Our tourism businesses look set to do very well on the back of the advertising, and we are looking forward to welcoming a huge increase in visitor numbers this season."

Mrs Hall said the area was not alone, adding: "High Force is a good example of what has happened, and we are receiving anecdotal reports from other tourist attractions that they are also seeing an increase in visitors - they certainly had a good Easter."

Mrs Hall believes there is a strong economic case for promoting tourism, saying: "The North-East England tourism industry already brings £1bn a year to the regional economy.

"However, our aim is for it to contribute considerably more and to play a central role in our plans to achieve a vibrant and sustainable North-East economy.

"The aim of the Passionate People, Passionate Places commercial was to capture the imagination of those who view it and inspire many to come and discover our region for themselves.

"This television campaign is an important step forward in communicating the many great attractions of the North-East to a wide audience who, in many cases, will have limited understanding of our region and all it has to offer."

Region's attractions welcome TV campaign

TOURIST attractions around the region have been reporting an encouraging start to the season, with the television advert playing its part.

Ruth Robson, head of marketing and development at The Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, said: "Visitor figures at The Bowes Museum have increased on the same period last year."

She said: "The quality of our exhibition programme and greater awareness of the region through the regional image campaign have to be contributing factors.

"It is excellent that One NorthEast is promoting the region in the way that it is.

"What I think is particularly good is that the campaign is fully inclusive of the geographical spread across the North-East and that it is being rolled out in the region as well as nationally and internationally.

"The Bowes Museum, located where it is in Teesdale, on the southern tip of County Durham, is well represented and the awareness of the campaign by residents of the region can only help when extending a welcome to visitors."

Also experiencing good visitor numbers is Hartlepool's Maritime Experience. Over the four days of the Easter weekend, visitor numbers rose 37 per cent on the same period last year, from 1,052 to 1,441. There was also a 15 per cent rise in the number of people visiting its neighbour, the free Museum of Hartlepool, which attracted 2,577 people.

Claire Munroe, of Hartlepool Council's Arts, Museums and Events Service, said: "Easter is always an especially popular time for visiting Hartlepool's Maritime Experience, but I also think people have been particularly keen to see the new-look Fighting Ships display, which has just been revamped as part of our ongoing 1.6m programme of improvements.

"Hartlepool's Maritime Experience has also been much in the media spotlight recently, with HMS Trincomalee and the paddle steamer Wingfield Castle temporarily changing places, and it features in the Passionate People, Passionate Places marketing campaign."

The improvements at Hartlepool's Maritime Experience were funded by One NorthEast, Hartlepool Council and the Tees Valley Partnership.

Another attraction which has acknowledged the importance of the advert is the Captain Cook Museum, in Stewart Park, Middlesbrough, which celebrates the life of the great explorer.

It has just become a free attraction and has seen a threefold increase in visitors but senior curator Phil Philo believes the advert is having an impact as well.

"It does create a good impression for the North-East," he said.

And Bamburgh Castle, in Northumberland, one of the landmarks featured in the advert is also doing well.

Administrator Ron Bewley said: "We had our best Easter for four years; the Easter weekend brought in 4,500 people. Although the advert does not specifically identify the area, it did get across the message that the Northumberland coast is a good place to visit. One or two of our visitors have mentioned seeing the castle on the television."