As the bite of the recession takes hold, and the pound diminishes in value against both the euro and the dollar, it is no surprise that British families are starting to discover the delights of holidaying closer to home. Cumbria Tourism has noted that the recent busy Easter period is a sure sign that the Lake District is in for a bumper summer in 2009! Whilst so far, Lakeland tourism in Ambleside, Windermere and Keswick has suffered from the financial downturn, an optimistic view is being taken by the counties tourist board, hotels, B&B's and holiday cottage owners. The industry often looks to the Easter weekend as an indicator for the forthcoming season and all the signs are good with tourist information centres reporting a 45% increase in footfall over 2008.
In the previous year, the worst hit retailer s have been the top and bottom end of the hospitality industry, including hotels and B&B's but a good recovery is expected, along with self-catering and holiday-home accommodation providers benefitting from the forthcoming influx of visitors.
Financial injections have also been announced to boost the tourist industry, with Cumbria Tourism benefitting from over a quarter of a £20.6 million funding package made available from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), announced last month. Other areas to benefit will be Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside and Manchester. Creating "high-quality, high-value visitor experiences" is a priority, as is capitalising on the "increasing trend to holiday at home". Some of the regions first areas to benefit from this grant are the refurbishments of the Tourist Information Centres/National Park Centres of Ullswater, Bowness, Hawkshead and Keswick.
By showing that the county values the customer experience, with improved facilities and a range of activities and accommodation on offer, tourists will reward the area by returning year on year, maintaining what is a world-class holidaying destination.
Brian Gates has been renting holiday properties for himself and others for over 15 years. He currently works for Property Rental Software, you can read some of his other blog postings here.
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