50 years of Cumbria Tourism 1974 – 2024 Timeline
Cumbria Tourism has come a long way since ‘Cumbria Tourist Board’ officially formed 50 years ago. There are countless highlights we could mention, but here is just a snapshot of some key milestones over the past five decades – not only for Cumbria Tourism, but for our county’s tourism and hospitality industry as a whole:
1974
1974
The creation of Cumbria Tourist Board in April 1974 marked a new era of cooperation and coordination between a variety of tourism stakeholders across the county.
1975
1975
The Lakes Hospitality Trade Show was established – still going strong today, it is now Cumbria’s longest-running trade show.
1976
1976
Cumbria Tourist Board launched the ‘Britain's Best Kept Secret’ campaign to promote Cumbria as a ‘hidden gem’. Widely praised at the time for its creative and effective use of print, TV and radio, it is credited with significantly increasing the profile of Cumbria in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
1979
1979
Cumbria’s visitor economy continued to grow rapidly, providing 20,000+ jobs and worth £75million to the county by the end of the 1970s.
1987
1987
Hadrian’s Wall was officially recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, putting it alongside the likes of the Taj Mahal, Machu Piccu and the Grand Canyon as one of the world’s most iconic sites.
1989
1989
Following a long-running campaign, the Government announced that the Carlisle-Settle railway line should remain open.
1994
1994
Britain’s first-ever computer-generated journey planner launched in Cumbria, making it easier for visitors and locals to plan travel via bus and rail services.
1995
1995
Like-minded tourism businesses formed the Japan Forum to concentrate on the Far East market, kick-starting an important stage in the growth of the county’s international tourism markets.
1996
1996
Cumbria Tourist Board became a company limited by guarantee, a not-for-profit business set up to support the visitor economy, following lengthy discussions with the English Tourist Board, commercial members and Cumbria County Council.
1997
1997
Cumbria Tourist Board launched the county’s first visitor facing website, known as ‘Cumbria The Lake District’. The first-ever county-wide tourism awards also took place.
2001
2001
The foot and mouth outbreak had a significant impact on Cumbria, leading to the closure of footpaths/attractions, the cancellation of events and a dramatic drop in visitor numbers.
2003
2003
The ‘Lakes Plus’ marketing campaign was launched by Cumbria Tourist Board to help the industry recover from foot and mouth disease. Independent consultants later said it encouraged visitors to spend an extra £17million a year and had supported an increase in annual visitor numbers to 15.5million by 2005.
2006
2006
The newly-renamed Cumbria Tourism moved from its original Bowness offices to a purpose-built building in Staveley, opened by TV personality Ben Fogle.
2008
2008
Queen Elizabeth II visited West Cumbria, to see the newly refurbished Beacon Museum and mark the 100th anniversary of Whitehaven harbour.
2010
2010
Cumbria Tourism’s celebrity postcard campaign ‘Wish You Were Here’ was unveiled to help the county recover from the impact of the 2009 floods, where water levels in Cockermouth reached up to 8.2ft (2.5m) and devastated businesses. Cumbria Tourism also underwent an internal restructuring and re-established itself on a more commercial footing, following the loss of funding from the Regional Development Agency (NWDA).
2015
2015
The high-profile #theplacetobe campaign was launched by Cumbria Tourism after Storm Desmond closed in on Cumbria causing significant damage to businesses and infrastructure.
2017
2017
The English Lake District was awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status, underlining its reputation globally.
2020
2020
Cumbria Tourism was at the forefront of a post-pandemic marketing recovery campaign, encouraging visitors to ‘attract and disperse’ across the county and reaching 21 million people.
2023
2023
Cumbria Tourism was one of the first destination management organisations nationally to be awarded the new ‘Local Visitor Economy Partnership’ (LVEP) status by VisitEngland, formally recognising its central role in transforming the visitor economy in an inclusive, accessible and sustainable way.
2024
2024