REGIONAL development agency One NorthEast has launched a series of adverts to attract more visitors to the region.

The organisation is spending £250,000 on two marketing and advertising campaigns that it hopes will attract 20,000 more people to the area.

The increase in visitors will add an estimated £11m of extra revenue for the North-East.

The spring/summer campaign is the first of four seasonal campaigns being launched this year by One NorthEast.

They hope by advertising the Holiday Guide 2005 in national newspapers such as The Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph it will attract an added 50,000 requests for the supplement.

Hugh Becker, of Teesdale Traditional Taverns, said: "We are delighted that One NorthEast is investing in the region so heavily.

"The vast majority of our bookings come from the holiday guide, so advertising in the national press is a great way to boost our bookings."

Also being launched is the walking campaign which advertises the One NorthEast walking guide, Walk Britain's Undiscovered Landscapes.

Mountaineer Alan Hinkes launched the guide the day before he set off to make a record-breaking trip to the Himalayas when he scaled a less daunting peak - Roseberry Topping, in the Cleveland Hills.