Cumbria Tourism shortlisted for two British Travel Awards - now it's down to public vote

Cumbria Tourism has been shortlisted for two awards in the prestigious British Travel Awards (BTA's); the awards are for the Best UK Holiday County or Region and for the Best UK Visitor Guide Website.
The Lake District, Cumbria, is up against some stiff competition in the Best UK Holiday County or Region category including; Cornwall, the Isle of Wight and Yorkshire and in the Best Visitor Guide Website category we are up against Bournemouth Tourism, Fal River Cornwall, Welcome to Yorkshire, VisitCornwall, Stay in Devon, Isle of Wight and GoActivities.

From the 15 June - 30 September members of the public will be able to vote for their favourites across the broad range of award categories; covering everything from Best Coach Tour Operator right through to the UK's Best Coastal Town.

This is where you come in, you our residents and visitors can help this beautiful county of ours receive the recognition the destination so richly deserves. All you have to do is visit https://britishtravelawards.com/vote_form.php and simply vote for Cumbria in categories A70 and A72. Fingers crossed you can help us to achieve further recognition for the Lake District, Cumbria.

Ian Stephens Managing Director of Cumbria Tourism said: ‘'Cumbria Tourism is a private sector and public sector partnership, which strives to maintain, improve and grow our visitor economy. The sector employs 56,500 staff and generates over £2 billion, a vital part of our local economy.''  He added: ‘'We at Cumbria Tourism have a shared ‘Tourism Strategy' for Cumbria which sets out a clear vision - to become Europe's Number One rural tourism destination making a positive contribution to the quality of the visitor experience and to the overall quality of life of the local community. Awards like these go some way to demonstrating our commitment to developing tourism within the Lake District, Cumbria, and our continued desire to represent the area to the best of our ability, to maintain and meet visitor's expectations and ensure we continue to be among the top flight destinations in the country.''

BTA's chief executive Lorraine Barnes Burton said: "Cumbria tourism is to be congratulated on reaching the finals of the prestigious British Travel Awards. The largest consumer voted awards programme in the UK, The BTA's are designed to reward the best companies in travel, and the winning accolade is the benchmark for excellence when it comes to finding out who really is the best in the business of travel for the UK consumer. Good luck to Cumbria Tourism!"

All companies entered for an Award were put before a core selection of industry professionals, drawn from the BTA Academy, a panel of respected individuals in business from both in and outside the travel industry, who whittled the nominations down to the list of final nominees in each of the seventy-five categories. The next stage sees the shortlisted companies put before the public vote with voting promoted through BTA media partners which include The Times, Sunday Times, The Sun, Sunday Sun and the Global Radio stations, including LBC and Classic FM. Shortlisted companies are also encouraged to lobby their happy customers for votes!

The winners will be the companies with the most votes - in 2011 over 700,000 votes were cast with the voting process and results scrutinized and audited by independent auditors Deloitte LLP. The winners of the 2012 British Travel Awards will be announced at a glittering ceremony on 1 November at the Battersea Evolution in Battersea Park, London. www.britishtravelawards.com