THE REGION'S tourist industry is poised to claw back the £500m lost during the year-long foot-and-mouth crisis.

Over the past 12 months, thousands of people lost their jobs, homes and businesses as Government officials shut down the countryside in an attempt to stop foot-and-mouth spreading.

Now, hopes are high that Easter will mark the beginning of the long road to recovery.

In a move to encourage tourists back to the region, Northumbria Tourist Board has invested more than £500,000 on television and radio advertising campaigns.

Running alongside has been a series of themed marketing campaigns combining tourist information with a hotline number for visitors.

The next few weeks will see the launch of Fish Northumbria, focusing on the range of fishing available in the region, and Colourful Northumbria, to promote gardens and stately homes.

The board will also flag up the region at this year's Holiday Show, held at Birmingham NEC, followed in March with a stand at the Country Living Exhibition.

Exhibitions in Stuttgart, Bergen, Oslo, the Hague, Amsterdam and Hamburg will follow in April.

A spokesman for the Northumbria Tourist Board, said: "In the last ten years, tourism has shown consistent growth to the point where it generates in excess of £1.5bn and employs 7pc of people in the region.

"But a full recovery will not happen overnight. One of our immediate priorities is to bring visitors and, with them, tourism spend back to Northumbria.

"The feedback we are receiving from overseas contacts is incredibly positive and there is no mention of foot-and-mouth disease, which is clearly very encouraging.

"We have also just launched our first overseas packages in euros, in partnership with P&O, North Sea Ferries and an overseas travel agent."

The regional tourism web site, which links every tourism business with tourist information centres to provide instant and up to-date information and booking facilities, continues to be successful.

A call desk running alongside the web site generates 30,000 calls a year.

The board now intends to expand the use of both in order to seize all marketing opportunities.

The spokesman added: "Our goal is to develop products and services that will encourage repeat visits and help build a brand for the region."