Tall Ships Set Sail & Provide £15M Boost to Local Business World…
After the nearby port town of Blyth won the bid to host the Tall Ships Regatta in 2015, no one could anticipate just how impactful the event has been after taking place this August Bank Holiday weekend. The North Sea race to Sweden always provides a great talking point for its host region, and after it was recently reported that the four-day event resulted in a £15 million boost to the local economy, the legacy of the world’s most majestic tall ships is certainly an impressive one.
About Tall Ships Regatta 2016
The history of the Tall Ships Regatta is a long and colourful one; every year thousands of spectators visit the event’s host town to see these vessels in action, and during the run up to their departure to Gothenburg in Sweden and the accompanying 500-mile race across the North Sea, visitors can experience life on-board as well as enjoy a number of activities – for free!
This year’s event was a resounding success, and despite the high profile, logistical challenges that organisers had to overcome to stage the event in Northumberland – the regatta is the largest event of its kind to take place here – the whole weekend proved to be a landmark occasion for Blyth and Northumberland as a whole. The event dominated a 1.5-mile site and welcomed thousands of visitors daily, each of which were all set to enjoy every bit of family fun on offer. The 2016 Tall Ships Regatta was packed full of excitement, and visitors could enjoy fairground attractions, live music, street theatre, evening performances and nightly firework displays. Saturday afternoon also saw a carnival parade in honour of the tall ships and their impending voyage and a parade of sail on Monday afternoon before they left the Port of Blyth for good.
A lasting legacy
The positive impact of the regatta has been felt throughout the North East, not just by the businesses based in Blyth. After estimating an £8 million boost for the economy, this figure has been superseded and now stands at £15 million, which builds on an already thriving tourism sector, an area which saw 9.3 million visitors in 2014 and supported more than 11,000 jobs last year. Visitor spend in Northumberland is also higher than ever and with the Tall Ships Regatta now behind us there’s no doubt that this legacy will see more and more visitors come to Blyth and the surrounding areas in years to come.
