AN online activity planner is helping businesses cash in on the boom in visitors to the region.

The Adventure Generator comes at a time the North-East’s £4bn tourism industry has bucked the national trend as the only area outside London to show an increase in visitor numbers last year.

The facility, developed by One North East and available at visitnorth eastengland.com provides visitors with a personal, interactive holiday planner. For each person it chooses a three-part adventure, from a database of outdoor activities, trips and attractions in the region.

It also taps into the growing interest in outdoor activities such as walking, cycling and more adventurous pursuits like surfing.

With more people choosing to holiday at home, early figures for this year suggest the tourism industry, which employs more than 60,000 people in the North-East and is worth £3.9bn to the local economy, is set for another good year. In the Tees Valley it supports 11,000 jobs and brings in £542m.