These two new Sunderland venues have been shortlisted for the North East tourism awards

Two Sunderland venues have been shortlisted in the annual North East tourism awards.

Sponsored by Destination North East England and run in partnership with VisitEngland, the awards have been running for 21 years now.

The nominees include Sunderland’s new Keel Square Holiday Inn, which has been shortlisted for the best new tourism business to the region, and then the 17Nineteen (Holy Trinity Church) venue for the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award and New Tourism Business of the Year.

Both developments have opened in Sunderland in the past couple of years and helped add to the local scene in respective ways, with the hotel driving a transformation of Keel Square through the venues it is hosting such as The Botanist and the Keel Tavern, while 17Nineteen has become an important new hub for community events in the East End.