TWO North Tyne attractions have been named tourism superstars at the North-East Tourism Awards – and several other attractions were also honoured.

In a lavish ceremony held in Newcastle Civic Centre’s banqueting hall on Tuesday, the greats of North-East tourism were congratulated on their exceptional contribution to the region’s visitor economy.

Among the winners in 15 categories were Leaplish Waterside Park, on Kielder Water, and Kielder Observatory.

Leaplish Waterside Park won the title of holiday park/holiday village of the year with Slaley’s Springhouse Country Park taking bronze in the same category.

Kielder Observatory came up trumps in the small visitor attraction of the year category.

The Angel of Corbridge scooped silver for the tourism pub of the year and the Calvert Trust Kielder was highly commended for both access for all tourism and self-catering provider of the year.

These was a silver award for the Hesleyside Huts venture at Hesleyside Hall at Bellingham, and in the sustainable tourism sector, there was a highly commended award for the Slate and Nature studio at West Woodburn.

Also highly commended in the tourism event of the year category was Northumberland County Show, which took place at Bywell.

Northumbrian Water’s head of leisure, strategy and transformation, David Hall, said: “We are thrilled that Leaplish Waterside Park has been awarded gold for the holiday park/ holiday village of the year.

“The awards are a fantastic opportunity for businesses to showcase their product and provide a focus for improvement in quality for visitors to the North-East.”

Chief executive at NewcastleGateshead initiative, Sarah Stewart, said: “International events, in particular the Rugby World Cup 2015, have given a huge boost to the tourism industry this year, not only in Newcastle but across the whole of the North-East.

“Such events create a fantastic opportunity to profile the breadth of the region’s tourism offer from cultural city breaks to family holidays.

“It’s fantastic to see the continued success of local businesses who contribute skills, knowledge and outstanding experiences to the industry as a whole.”

The regional visitor economy is worth an estimated £3.9bn, employing more than 55,000 in the North-East, with an additional 730 jobs created over the last 12 months.