Tourism drive to attract more overseas visitors

Cumbria’s tourism industry will be flying the flag for the county throughout November in a bid to entice more overseas visitors to the Lake District, Cumbria in 2010. 

A consortium of local businesses, along with Cumbria Tourism, the lead organisation for tourism in the county, will be exhibiting at the prestigious World Travel Market at ExCel London from the 9th to the 12th of November. 

The four day premier global event for the travel industry welcomes around 50,000 travel professionals representing 187 countries and regions from around the world, and over 2,500 members of the world’s press.

Cumbria Tourism will be exhibiting as part of the England’s Northwest stand along with a number of partners from the county including; Windermere Lake Cruises; The Wordsworth Trust; the Lake District Historic Houses Association, which is made up of eight properties throughout the county; tour operator Mountain Goat; Lake District Estates; Millennium Travel; and Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel. 

In addition to this event, Stephen Broughton, a representative of England’s Lake Country - which is a local association that markets the Lake District to the US - will be selling the Lake District to the hugely significant US audiences at the National Tour Association convention in Reno, Nevada from the 14th to the 18th.

Finally, the following week on the 19th November, Cumbria Tourism and four partners will be attending a trade event in Dublin with Visit Manchester.  This is part of the ‘Gateway’ campaign to raise awareness of the Lake District, Cumbria as a holiday and short break destination for Irish visitors arriving into Manchester Airport.  This event is expected to attract over 70 key travel trade contacts. 

Overseas visitors currently make up less than 10 per cent of the 15.3 million visitors that Cumbria welcomes every year.