| New Board coming to Western Lake District Tourism Partnership |
Katie Read, the new Tourism Partnership Director for West Cumbria is currently in the process of putting together a new Board for the Partnership to be re-named West Cumbria Tourism.
The Board will help steer the work programme of the Partnership and work closely with the team to develop West Cumbria as a tourist destination. The members – ideally from the private sector and with an interest in the success of tourism throughout the west coast – will help oversee what the group does to attract more visitors and tourism investment to the area. They will provide unique business experience to help the group achieve its aims. The roles are voluntary although reasonable expenses could be claimed. West Cumbria Tourism will work to represent the interests of all tourism businesses between Millom in the south to Bowness-on-Solway in the north, as well as many other destinations inbetween including the towns of Cockermouth, Workington, Whitehaven and Maryport. Katie Read has been appointed by Cumbria Tourism to be the Director of the newly-established West Cumbria Tourism which has recently been tasked with the role of improving West Cumbria’s tourism performance. She will work work directly with those in the industry across the area to develop tourism, with the overall aim of getting more people to visit the Western Lake District and Cumbria’s “Lake District Coast.” Katie said: “Now more than ever, West Cumbria needs business people to step forward if they have an interest in tourism and a desire to see this area succeed as a visitor destination.” “We have seen how fragile the tourism economy can be and the impact this can have on many other businesses. The challenge is very clear now – raising the profile of this area due to the message that has gone out worldwide to visitors about this part of Cumbria following last month's weather.” Key projects coming up in future years and involving a range of partners across the West of Cumbria include “Roman Maryport” the development of the museum and Camp Farm; Egremont Castle Pavilion, and Whitehaven Hotel townscape and orientation programme. The success of tourism in all of Cumbria’s towns, villages and valleys, is vital to the county's economy in terms of jobs and bringing in visitors who then help keep local businesses alive. It’s an industry that generates an estimated £100m a year for Copeland and an estimated £216m every year in Allerdale – not just in tourism but associated businesses that rely on the industry like painters and decorators, website companies, food suppliers and laundry services.
The group has been tasked with the role of developing tourism on behalf of partners with a stake in the success of tourism in the area including - Allerdale Borough Council, Copeland Borough Council, Cumbria Tourism, Hadrian’s Wall Heritage Limited and Britain’s Energy Coast™ West Cumbria.
If you would like anymore details on this, please contact Katie Read on kread@cumbriatourism.org |
| New Holiday Guide and Top Attractions now available |
| The coolest coast in the country is showcasing its wow factor experiences, its range of accommodation, from relaxed camping to five star luxury, and its innovative attractions, in a new holiday guide as aesthetically pleasing as anything else on the coffee table. The Western Lake District holiday guide for 2010 is a glossy directory of what to do and where to go, on what the 2010 marketing campaign is describing as ‘The Cool Coast’. Its striking front cover reflects the two facets to the area that make it so unique for the visitor, from the bracing sea-focused experiences available along the coast, to the tranquil and relaxed environments around some of Britain’s most beautiful lakes. The guide follows a thematic route this year, with themes such as Truly, Madly, Deeply explaining the range of activities available in an area with Britain’s Favourite View, outstanding regional food and wild, outdoor experiences. Rugged Gems shifts the focus on to the dramatic scenery and sporting activities to enjoy within the Western Lake District landscape, whilst the Cool Coast and the Colourful Coast explore the relaxation, wildlife encounters and sporting thrills on offer.
Festivals play a major part in the Western Lake District’s tourism calendar and receive much attention in the new guide, as it launches the concept of West Fest is the Best Fest – a marketing theme that will be unravelled as the year progresses.
Printed to a run of 50,000 and also available as an interactive brochure online at http://www.western-lakedistrict.co.uk/ this new-style guide is sure to catch the eye of consumers across the country. It will also be supported with a national media campaign and include two competitions with prizes of attractive stays in the Western Lake District.
The guide is also supported by a new Top Attractions leaflet for the Western Lake District. This has been printed to a run of 250,000 and is set to encourage more visits to the area’s attractions. New attractions featured for this year are Cars of the Stars and the James Bond Museum in Keswick.
This leaflet is available digitally, online at http://www.western-lakedistrict.co.uk/ and for order, or by calling 01900 818741, or emailing info@western-lakedistrict.co.uk for those wishing to take a stock.
The Western Lake District Tourism Partnership is funded by both Allerdale and Copeland Borough Councils, both of whom are delighted with the new approach to promotion through the holiday guide.
Councillor Hugh Branney, the portfolio holder for tourism at Copeland Borough Council said, "Tourism is of crucial importance to Copeland and the whole of West Cumbria, so I am delighted with the new tourism guide and Top Attractions leaflet. These are two high quality, well-designed publications that I am confident will do lots to encourage people to visit this area.
“The Western Lake District really is one of the most beautiful places in the whole of the country, and I hope more people will come to see it."
Adding to this, Margaret Jackson, Allerdale Borough Council’s Executive member with responsibility for Tourism, said: “This is a terrific initiative to promote the Western Lake District and help spread the word that Cumbria is open for business.
“Tourism is an important part of Allerdale’s economy. We live in a wonderful part of the world and it’s important that the message about the quality of product we have here is delivered widely and effectively.”
New Tourism Director for the Western Lake District, Katie Read, says: “We chose to go down a thematic route in order to position the area in the way that the modern consumer wishes to select their tourism choices. Many are now more interested in the experience that a holiday can provide, than the destination in which it takes place. The Western Lake District is packed with unique experiences and the new guide conveys this in a stunning manner, both visually and descriptively.” Anyone wishing to order a guide can do so online at http://www.western-lakedistrict.co.uk/ or by emailing info@western-lakedistrict.co.uk |
| Positive News request from Catapult PR |
| We are always looking for exciting and new stories to be used in any PR work we do. But now more than ever, it is really important for you to communicate with us so we can promote this area on your behalf. Below are some details of various concepts Jane Hunt, our PR consultant is working on. She would really appreciate some input from you in order to generate some great press coverage. Note from Jane: I am writing to you on behalf of the Western Lake District Tourism Partnership, as their PR consultant. Whilst PR for the area was important anyway, the events of November have made a positive profile for the area even more vital. To try to generate some positive PR in the coming months, in terms of editorial in national, regional and local newspapers and magazines, as well as on radio and hopefully TV, we are first placing a focus on food and drink. We are concentrating on some of the aspects of the area's cuisine that the visitor could sample during a visit and also then linking this into the great outdoors. We need the support of accommodation providers, hotels, breweries and pubs and cafes and are seeking to involve as many businesses as possible, on an on-going basis. This communication will give you my e-mail address and I hope that you will send me interesting snippets and news items, which I can use in various ways, whenever opportunities arise, as well as information to suit the criteria of the current campaign. The initiatives in which you can currently be involved are detailed below:
1. Tea & Toddies
We are trying to generate support from those living outside the Western Lake District by asking them to do something very simple. This is to visit the area, for whatever purpose, and enjoy a beverage or hot toddy whilst they are there, to support businesses whose trade has suffered.
We would like to have a call to action as part of this and this would really be for businesses to give customers a Western Lake District events list for 2010. This is to encourage them to return to the area to take part in some of the fantastic events that the area will be staging. This list could be handed out as an A4 sheet, or you could do something more fancy with it. We would love for you to give something to your local retailers, so that they could slip an events list in with a purchase made in their shop. Anything that you can do to communicate the events on the list will be beneficial to the whole area's trade.
PR messages are also being put out with a focus on visiting friends and family. This market is an important one for the Western Lake District's visitor economy, so anything that can be done to encourage this will again boost trade.
2. Sausage Strolls
I am currently looking to link the Cumberland sausage - an iconic part of the area's cultural heritage - with outdoor walking. The latter can be as simple as a stroll up the high street or to a local feature of interest, or as energetic as a vigorous walk to a local beauty spot.
What I need are a number of examples of where a visitor can enjoy some fabulous Cumberland sausage (on the menu or available for self-catering guests to buy locally) with details of the suggested 'stroll' that either works up the appetite, or which walks off the calories.
If you can fit this requirement, please let me know. I want to make this a quirky and interesting initiative for national and regional media, so this is your chance to be included in something that will make the headlines and help bring visitors into the area. Working together, as an informal Sausage Stroll cluster, will allow businesses to benefit from some partnership marketing, promoted through PR. We do need your input.
3. Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice
We need to promote the area in advance of Easter 2010 and this initiative will focus on the area's food heritage, influenced by the spices and sugar brought into Whitehaven in its heyday. For the sugar and spice part, I again need examples of dishes you might have on your menu (again regularly/continuously), which are traditional Cumbrian fare, or which are spiced or flavoured in some way by rum, ginger etc. For the all things nice, I need to get examples of great things to do for Easter 2010 and for the Spring in general. Ideally, these need to be a bit quirky or different, as this will allow them to catch the eye of the press. They can be events at attractions, places to see and things to do near your business, or little gems that few people know about. A great example of this was found when I researched beachcombing and was told about the gems and Victorian graffiti at Fleswick Bay. Please rack your brains and think about the things you know about, which visitors would probably find of great interest. Having done that, please let me know about it.
4. Breweries At the November presentations given by the Western Lake District Tourism Partnership, we had breakaway sessions that asked attendees what they wanted to see marketed within the area. Breweries and beer came up both times. We are now working on something that will highlight the breweries we have in the area and the associated events, in terms of beer festivals. Please let us know about your brewery, or your local brewery, which may not necessarily get this call for information. Please let us know about the festivals that are running, or give us contacts who can provide information.
This initiative should be another great one to get our year started.
I hope this note has inspired some great ideas. If you have anything in mind for a story, even if it is not on this list, please let me know, as it could potentially be used in the future, or through other initiatives in the pipeline. Please do not be afraid to put something forward. The PR campaign will be all about participation and involving businesses in the promotion of the Western Lake District and hopefully this note will get the ball rolling. I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards Jane Hunt
Catapult PR Please either contact Jane directly on jane@catapultpr.co.uk or contact Lucy Hardy on 01900 818741 or lhardy@western-lakedistrict.co.uk |
| Cumbria Tourism Awards |
Cumbria Tourism Awards 2010 www.cumbriatourism.org/awards
You will have received details about the awards in the post but with the closing date now only 3 weeks away - Friday 26 February - we didn't want you to miss out because the information has been buried in the ‘to do' pile!
Previous winners of the awards have really benefited from the free PR and the links to GoLakes website. Don't just take our word for it:
"Winning the Cumbria Tourism award represented a recognition of quality that has resulted in precious extra publicity, a wonderful selling point and has undoubtedly led to increased turnover."
Jude Walker, Hall Hills, Self-Catering Holiday of the Year 2009 for Cumbria and Northwest.
Or, in the words of David Jackson from Castlerigg Hall, winner of the Holiday Park of the Year 2009 for Cumbria and Northwest:
"Thoo'l nivver git a better place t' wark th'n in oor county, th'nowse. An if th's given grand service, hev somat reet good or hev fettled yer spot up, and folk shud know a'boot it, thoo shud goller it fre' t' felltops by gaan in't Cumbria Tourism Awards! Ennyrwoad, git thissenn entered an if tha does weel ah bet thoo'l be gaely thrang next year."
(Translation available if required!)
There are 15 categories all together and the information you need to enter can be found on www.cumbriatourism.org/awards or contact Pauline if you need further details.
All entries are initially judged by a panel of three who score independently and the highest three scoring businesses are shortlisted and invited with a guest to the wonderful awards ceremony on 11 May 2010 at the Rheged Centre.
We really hope to encourage you to enter and look forward to receiving your entry(ies)!
Pauline Crossley
pcrossley@cumbriatourism.org Tel: 01593 825042 It would be great to see some West Cumbrian businesses in the running for these awards, just the positive publicity we need at the moment! If you need any help or advice with the forms, please contact the Partnership on info@western-lakedistrict.co.uk |
| New Visitor Pass for Cumbria |
| New scheme to boost tourism spending in Cumbria Businesses across Cumbria are being given the chance to get involved in a new initiative aimed at boosting tourism spending across the county.
The Freedom of™ the Lake District pass is based on very successful schemes in places like London and York that have generated hundreds of thousands of pounds of sales around the world and aims to make Cumbria more attractive to potential tourists by offering pre-paid discounts, suggested itineraries and other useful information to help them plan their stay or visit.
The pass has been created and developed by a new Cumbrian based business Tyg Ltd with financial support from the Fells and Dales Leader Plus programme, which is being delivered through the Northwest Development Agency with Defra as the Managing Authority.
Peter Frost-Pennington, a director of Tyg and whose family also own Muncaster Castle, says: “The Freedom of the Lake District pass will help to attract new visitors from both the UK and overseas to the businesses and organisations that are involved in the scheme. After a number of months developing the scheme we now want to hear from those attractions, activity providers, shops, restaurants, event organisers and others who would like to be included in the Pass. “Many tourism attractions and activity providers already have various promotions ranging from ‘kids go free’ to ‘Buy one, get one free’ and the idea of the Pass is to provide an attractive offer to the customer whilst maximising the return to the participating businesses.”
The pass will be widely promoted through media in the UK and on a special Freedom of the Lake District website. Visit Britain will also be providing the information in 16 different languages and selling the passes to their agents and customers around the world via their 24 e-shops, helping to put the Lake District on the world stage in a new and innovative way.
The Freedom of the Lake District scheme is also being supported by Cumbria Tourism. Eric Robson, the Chairman of Cumbria Tourism, says: “This is an exciting new initiative that will enable businesses in Cumbria to benefit from a powerful marketing tool that has previously only been available in cities like London and York. Passes like these encourage people to visit more attractions and do more activities than they would otherwise and they can also benefit local retailers and accommodation providers.”
The passes will enable the businesses involved to attract new customers and will also provide them with valuable data about their visitors. Businesses will also get their own page on the Freedom of the Lake District website.
The scheme is open to retailers as well as attractions and activity providers. Accommodation providers can also sell the passes through their own websites in return for a percentage of the price.
The Freedom of the Lake District Pass uses the latest technology to make it simple for both customers and businesses. All that businesses need to take part is a basic computer with an internet connection. Visitors will get up to 20% off entry to attractions and activities or products they buy in participating shops. There has been a ‘London Pass’ for more than 10 years. Surveys show that around 90% of visitors say they do more and see more as a result of having the Pass. Any attraction signing up before the 16th February 2010 will get two years for the price of one and as this concept is so new, the first 20 attractions coming on board will qualify for reduced join up rates; in fact, the first 10 will be entirely free to join! Do act fast, as these places will go!
Any business that would like to get involved in the Freedom of the Lake District scheme should call 01229 717614 or email steve@muncaster.co.uk or peter@muncaster.co.uk |
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