Cumbria Tourism

Cumbria Tourism Highlights 2007/08

• Turnover £6.6 million – an increase of 39%
• Net assets as at the 31st March 2008 £1.4 million – an increase of 10%
• 3 Enjoy England Awards for Excellence winners – one gold, two silver
• 44 Tourism Connect accommodation improvement grants awarded levering £6.2 million of private sector investment
• Secured £1.9 million worth of public realm improvements in Windermere
• £500k funding secured to develop Cumbria as the Adventure Capital of the UK
• £260k funding secured to further develop Culture Tourism in Cumbria
• £1 million funding secured for further marketing activity
• 58% of all operating income invested in marketing
• Total marketing spend of £2.5 million
• £2 million worth of bookings through the golakes website – an increase of 54%
• 4,903 establishments have achieved a recognised quality grade

To view more Cumbria Tourism Highlights for 2007/08 view the annual report here 

Lake District named best UK holiday destination 2008

The Lake District has won a major tourism honour by being named the best holiday destination in the UK at a national awards ceremony.

The coveted award, which every destination in the country strives to win, was announced at the prestigious British Travel Awards 2008 held in London.

Crucially, the Lake District won the all important public vote. Thousands named the area as the best place in the UK to take a holiday. London took the silver award and Cornwall was third.  For more information on the award and to download the logo to use on your own marketing materials click here

Golakes Advertising Opportunities 2008/09

GET YOUR BUSINESS IN FRONT OF OVER 3.6 MILLION POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS A YEAR!

Golakes.co.uk our official visitor website offers a great value way of exposing your business to over 3.6 million consumers a year.

The website had an extensive redevelopment at the end of last year which resulted in a 38% booking increase compared to the same months in the previous year.  The site was also shortlisted in the 'Webby' awards earlier this year as one of the five best tourism websites in the world!

For more information on advertising on golakes click here

Top ten tips on surviving the recession

Tourism businesses in Cumbria are being advised to offer visitors the best value for money they can during 2009 to help counter the effects of the recession.  

Britain's highest ranking tourism official Tom Wright, Chief Executive of VisitBritain, has given tips on surviving the recession at a special event organised by Cumbria Tourism.

There is evidence that, rather than stop going on holiday, some visitors will ration their spending on other items because they see holidays as an essential rather than a luxury, and that they may take more UK breaks during 2009.

But Mr Wright said people would be far more selective about their destination, spend longer on research to get the most out of it, and would be looking for good value for money.

Mr Wright explained that tourism businesses must ensure prices were reasonable and that the quality of what they offer is of high value and tourism businesses should go the extra mile to make visits memorable.

To view Mr Wrights presentation click here