Tour of Britain 2019

Your journey

The OVO Tour of Britain returns to Cumbria on the 10th of September, with the fourth stage beginning in Gateshead and ending in Kendal. With the eyes of cycling enthusiasts on the county this is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your business as cycle friendly to those looking to book their next stay. The links below are packed with useful information and advice on the tour to help you make the most of this opportunity.

OVO Tour of Britain Website

Print-ready files of stage poster available to download

Cumbria and the Lake District Cycle Tourism Toolkit

You can also get involved with the 2019 OVO Tour of Britain Land Art Competition on their website – learn more about the 2018 competition HERE.

England’s Most Visited Attractions Revealed

Your journey

The VisitEngland Annual Survey to visitor attractions ,  the list of most-visited attractions collated by the national tourism body, has been released with Cumbria’s very own Windermere Lake Cruises once again making the top 10 paid-for list with an outstanding 1.63 million visitors last year!

The popularity of the county’s attractions, both paid and free are also highlighted in the North West top 20, which boasts experiences from all across Cumbria and further highlights the popularity of our tourism industry.

Most visited paid attractions – North West 2018
2. Windermere Lake Cruises, Bowness
4. Ullswater Steamers
11. Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway Co Ltd
13. The World of Beatrix Potter
15. Carlisle Castle
18. Sizergh Castle
19. Hill Top
20. Lakeland Motor Museum

Most visited free attractions – North West 2018
19. Carlisle Cathedral

 

Congratulations to all our attractions across the county – every one contributes to the visitor experience and our £3billion industry.

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Lonely Planet reveals the 500 best travel experiences in the UK

Your journey

Great news for Cumbria!

In total, 17 sights and experiences in Cumbria feature in the Lonely Planet’s top 500 unmissable experiences and hidden gems across Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands for the first time in the ultimate UK travel hitlist. The list of attractions and below demonstrates the power of arts and culture in Cumbria to attract visitors, making our region one of the leading rural cultural destinations in the UK.

 

Full list of entries in Cumbria by rank:

5: Hadrian’s Wall, Cumbria and the North East

9: Find poetry on the shores of Lake Windermere

40: Explore England’s rooftop in the Lake District

134: Snake your way through the Honister Pass for glorious views

178: Hop, swing or jump into the cool pool waters of Eskdale

180: Relive the age of steam in miniature on La’al Ratty

191: Recreate Swallows and Amazons on Derwent Water

237: Bike or hike – or swing – through Grizedale Forest

243: Brave the Iron Way at Honister Slate Mine and Via Ferrata

285: Find poetry at the Wordsworth Museum, Grasmere

286: Find your inner Flopsy at Hill Top, Lake District

304: Sharpen your wits at the Derwent Pencil Museum, Keswick

310: Sample authentic gingerbread from Sarah Nelson’s Shop

343: Go on a haute cuisine journey in Cumbria’s Cartmel

358: Travel back in time aboard the Steam Yacht Gondola on Coniston Water

412: Get happily lost in the topiary gardens of Levens Hall

450: Visit the Arts and Crafts bounty that is Blackwell House

492: Get medieval in Carlisle Castle

Event Sponsorship Opportunities

Your journey

Are you interested in showcasing your business to key decision makers across Cumbria’s tourism and hospitlaity industry?

We can offer unique sponsorship opportunities for our regular Members’ Meetings, routinely attended by approximately 130 representatives from across the county and further afield.

Our next available opportunity is on the 14th November 2019 at the Armathwaite Hall Hotel, Bassenthwaite.

The meeting will take place from around 11.30am until around 3.30pm and includes lunch for our members.  We usually have approximately 130 members at this meeting and it is a great opportunity for networking.  The cost to sponsor this meeting is £1,500 +VAT.  For this you would receive the following:

  • Branded invitations to members
  • Display stand (either manned by your staff or not)
  • Logo on presentation slide visuals
  • Leaflet drop on seats
  • 5 minute presentation slot on the agenda
  • Inclusion in our follow-up email to members
  • Adspot on www.cumbriatourism.org
  • Mention on Facebook and Twitter pages

We will also be holding three events in 2020 – dates to be confirmed.

Interested?

To register your interest in sponsorship or to learn more please contact Sam Tollerson at stollerson@cumbriatourism.org.

Print Marketing Opportunities

Your journey

The Lake District, Cumbria Holiday Guide

Featuring inspiring editorial and imagery, the official Lake District, Cumbria Holiday Guide is a highly comprehensive tourism guide and the only brochure to cover the whole of the county.

A reference on everything from places to stay, and where to eat, to heritage, culture and outdoor adventure; the guide informs and inspires on spontaneous day trips, well planned holidays, and memorable experiences. We print 120,000 copies of the guide distributed nationwide and on request overseas.

 Please see the 2020 advertising rates below. We are offering special early bird rates for bookings made and adverts supplied up until 31st August.

  •  1/8 page £315+VAT, early bird rate £300+VAT
  • 1/4 page £630+VAT, early bird rate £600+VAT
  • 1/2 page £1,260+VAT, early bird rate £1,200+VAT
  • Full page £2,100+VAT, early bird rate £2,000+VAT
  • Outside Back Cover – please enquire for rates

 

Attractions Guide
The largest distribution of any guide in Cumbria (420,000 copies), the Attractions Guide is a user friendly, pocket size display of the best ways to experience this world class destination. Filled with top attractions, on outdoor adventure, and indoor workshops, to museums and galleries, or castles and wildlife, this guide is a wonderful opportunity to promote your business.

Available in 6 languages (English, Chinese, Japanese, German, Spanish and French), it will leave any reader, domestic or international, eager and enthusiastic for their time in the county. The guide also plots each attraction on the included map, making it as easy as possible for the user to find and enjoy their great day out.

Please note, limited space available and always filled on a first come first served basis.

 Please see the 2020 advertising rates below.

  •  Single space advert £899+VAT
  • Double space advert £1,798+VAT
  • Triple/panel space advert £2,697+VAT

   

Food & Drink Guide

This guide showcases all the best that the county has to offer in the food and drink sector. Distributed across the county, and on-route, the 30,000 printed copies will focus on the best, showcasing a fantastic range of award-winning pubs and breweries, cafés and tearooms, to retailers and artisan producers.

Whether it’s a light lunch, or Michelin star restaurant, the food and drink guide will have all the answers to our reader’s question on where and what to try. Content also includes a full calendar of Foodie Events, interviews, award winners, and general tourist information to help readers find their food.

The guide has a targeted distribution, largely across the county and main routes in and is available to view and download from our award-winning website Golakes.

 Please see the 2019/2020 advertising rates below.

  •  1/4 page £260+VAT
  • 1/2 page £515+VAT
  • Full page £924+VAT
  • Outside Back Cover SOLD

 

 

 

 

 

Cumbria Tourism launch Holiday Guide 2020 cover photo competition

Your journey

Cumbria Tourism is giving amateur photographers the chance to have their work grace the cover of the forthcoming Lake District, Cumbria Holiday Guide 2020 – which will be seen by more than 120,000 people in-print – as well as thousands more online.

Entries must be original images which capture the spirit and beauty of Cumbria, to help promote the county and the National Park to audiences right across the UK and beyond. The guide will be produced and distributed by Cumbria Tourism – the county’s official Destination Management Organisation.

If you have taken a photograph that’s worthy of being seen by the world, send it in to Cumbria Tourism with details of why The Lake District, Cumbria is #theplacetobe for you. The winning image will be printed on the front cover of the glossy A4 guide, as well as online at www.golakes.co.uk.

Whether it’s a tranquil shot from a lake shore, something that captures the beauty of our coastline or a stunning image from the top of a mountain, our judges can’t wait to see this year’s entries.

Last year’s winner, Ben Hutchinson, submitted a photo of Ashness Jetty on the shore of Derwentwater. Ben says, “I was thrilled and honoured to be featured on the cover of the guide. My Grandad who was evacuated to the Lake District during the war and gave me the knowledge of the lakes had a massive smile on his face when I gave him the news. The cover looks great. I love it!”

With beautiful shots of Buttermere and Honister Pass also winning the contest in recent years, the bar has been set very high – and the clock is ticking as the deadline for entries is just over three weeks away.

Cumbria Tourism’s Head of Marketing and Sales, Rachel Tyson, says, “We welcome entries from all over the world and choosing the winner is always quite a challenge as the quality of the entries is always so high. It can be a photo you’ve taken yourself, or if you’ve seen an exceptional photo by someone you know, why not encourage them to send it in to us?”

You can enter here, before 1 September, 2019 – where you can also find the full terms and conditions. You can also email entries to website@cumbriatourism.org along with the following information:

  • Where your image was taken.
  • Why is Cumbria #theplacetobe? Let us know why the image means so much to you and why you think it deserves to be on the front cover of the 2020 holiday guide.
  • Your name, email address, location & age.

Funding unlocks free support for tourism and retail businesses

Your journey

 Cumbria Tourism has been given the go-ahead to offer 480 hours of free 1-2-1 business support to help businesses grow and innovate, thanks to the Cumbria Growth Catalyst programme.

An initial phase of funding earlier this year has already seen specialist Cumbria Tourism staff provide an array of personalised business support sessions across the county, from St Bees and Carlisle to Windermere, Walney Island and Penrith. This has included advice on business development, marketing, PR, accommodation quality and digital/website reviews.

Cumbria Growth Catalyst is delivered through Cumbria Business Growth Hub™ on behalf of Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). Now, Cumbria Tourism has been given the green light to deliver an additional 160 three-hour ‘diagnostic’ sessions with tourism businesses between now and March 2020.

The aim is to help Cumbria’s small or medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to strengthen their business. To be eligible, they must have been trading for more than three years and their primary focus must be working directly with consumers.

Cumbria Growth Catalyst is also enabling Cumbria Tourism to provide a series of ‘scale ups’ over the next nine months, giving 16 eligible tourism businesses up to 12 hours of additional intensive support sessions.  To qualify, businesses that meet the standard criteria must also have at least 5 employees, an annual turnover of £250,000 and the aspiration to grow their turnover by 50% in the next 3 years.

Finally, the programme means that Cumbria Tourism can offer FREE places for eligible businesses on nine workshops, with subjects spanning everything from social media and award-writing to customer service training and attracting international visitors.  Most of the workshops will be facilitated by the organisation’s in-house experts.

Cumbria Tourism’s Business Development Manager, Sarah Davies, says, “Cumbria Growth Catalyst programme is a fantastic opportunity for businesses to tap into the expertise of our advisors completely free of charge. Every personalised advice session will result in a follow-up report and practical suggestions to help them develop them business, so it is a really worthwhile exercise and gives them invaluable access to help develop constructive leads, knowledge and ideas for the future.”

Storrs Hall in Bowness is one of the businesses to benefit from the first phase of the programme. Marketing Manager, Amanda Shaw, comments, “Through the Cumbria Growth Catalyst scheme we worked with Cumbria Tourism to identify new and expanding markets. As a result of that research we are already seeing new bookings from India. Working with the team, we identified opportunities to enhance our online presence, which we are sure will help increase direct bookings.  Getting an independent perspective on our business from qualified advisors has been very useful and has definitely highlighted opportunities for growth.”

 

To apply, or to check if your business meets the qualifying criteria, please contact Beatrice Hooson at Cumbria Tourism: bhooson@cumbriatourism.org / 01539 822222.

Still Time to Get Involved with Trade Shows & Public Events

Your journey

Cumbria Tourism and partners have been attending a number of trade and visitor focused shows throughout the country to inspire visits and itineraries and to importantly showcase our destination to a wide audience.

There is still the opportunity to get involved and market your business alongside Cumbria Tourism as we jointly promote our county as an award-winning destination. Branded as ‘The Lake District, Cumbria’, we are partnering with NPD to promote our county at the following events:

Chatsworth Country Fair – 30 August – 1 September 2019
2000 leaflets required
£245.00

Coach Driver Pack
300 required
£50.00

Group Travel and Leisure Show Milton Keynes – 10 October 2019
£245.00

Costs include

  • Stand set up and breakdown
  • Pre-packing of packs
  • Production of stand graphics

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to get involved! For further details and to book your place please contact campaigns@cumbriatourism.org

Working with airports to showcase our area

Your journey

Thursday the 4th of July saw Carlisle Lake District Airport open for business with hundreds of visitors now arriving every week via this new route from Dublin, Belfast City and London Southend.

Gill Haigh, managing director of Cumbria Tourism said: “We know from working with the Irish markets, that there is a huge appetite for these new routes and there is a great opportunity to link up with transatlantic flights and the lucrative US market. Our own visitor survey also demonstrates a growth in visitors from the South East, so the Airport is providing further accessibility and convenience for these passengers.

“The three new routes will be a complete game-changer for the region’s connectivity with London and Ireland and highly convenient for tourists booking breaks to the county. We look forward to continuing to work closely with Kate Willard and the team at CLDA and promoting this new direct route into the county to new and existing visitors”.

 

Some of the North’s most-loved attractions, high-flying businesses and world-famous institutions are set to be showcased to nearly 30m people using Manchester Airport.

It has launched a visual campaign to celebrate all the things that make the North – including Cumbria – a great place to live, visit and trade with.

Called “More than an Airport”, it will see people, businesses, tourist sites, charities and other organisations feature in a series of images that will be displayed across the campus of the UK’s third largest gateway.

The images will also be used across social media, online and at various sites across the whole of the North.

More than 50 companies and individuals from across the North feature in the campaign, including locations in Cumbria

Head of Marketing and Sales at Cumbria Tourism, Rachel Tyson, said: “Manchester Airport is a key gateway to Northern England and it is fantastic to be part of a campaign which reinforces the warm welcome that we can collectively offer to international visitors. With the lure of two UNESCO World Heritage Sites and a world-class reputation as a visitor destination, Cumbria’s £3billion tourism industry has a compelling story to tell and it’s an exciting time to be developing some of our most important overseas markets alongside our partners in other northern destinations.”

Jo Lappin, Chief Executive of Cumbria local Enterprise Partnership, said: “We are delighted to support the Manchester Airport campaign, which showcases all that the North has to offer. Here in Cumbria, the campaign highlights that we are an exceptional place to live, work and invest, as well as visit. Many businesses and investors are already aware of Cumbria’s first-rate visitor offer but might be less familiar with the breadth of our economy and the range of employment and investment opportunities available. We therefore welcome this campaign, which will help make sure that that this offer is well understood, nationally and internationally.”

Ross McMahon, Founder and Chief Executive of Kendal Nutricare, said: “Kendal Nutricare is the home of family nutrition, proudly manufacturing KENDAMIL, the only British-made formula for early life nutrition and KENDALIFE, for complete adult nutrition. Since 1962, we have combined the finest natural, full-cream milk, sourced from local farms in the Lake District, with world-class manufacturing and food-science talent here in the North of England. As a Northern Powerhouse export champion, Manchester Airport is our gateway to the world, connecting us with customers and partners from our 20+ international markets. We are proud to be recognised by the Prime Minister and Secretary of State as a Board of Trade Gold Award winner, a testament to our product excellence and global ambitions.”

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