£750,000 for major promotion of Lake District over next two and a half years

Cumbria Tourism has begun a major promotion of The Lake District  following the approval from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund. Working with Cumbria Tourism, VisitEngland has successfully secured over £750,000 for the promotional campaign, which will run over the next two and a half years

The initial phase of the project will be a prominent campaign running from 20 August until 16th of September with promotions appearing in key ‘hub/interchange’ rail and underground stations across London including; Euston, King’s Cross, St. Pancreas, Victoria         , Bank, Charing Cross, Embankment, London Bridge, Paddington, Liverpool St and Waterloo reaching post-Olympic and Paralympic visitors, as well as Londoners returning to work at the end of August, with the aim of generating late summer, autumn and winter bookings.

The campaign has a strong call to action and identity under the headings of ‘Go - Share Great Moments’ and ‘Go - Take Your Breath Away’ using giant posters, digital and non-digital escalator panels and a whole range of other formats including website branding, newsletter branding and social media elements, all of which will feature stunning Lake District images from around the county, depicting our beautiful landscapes, our quality food offer, our huge range of adventure activities, outdoor family fun and Cumbria’s strong cultural offer all directing people to visit www.golakes.co.uk to find out more about what we have to offer as a destination.

Cumbria, as one of England’s attract brands is one of several destinations to benefit from this project VisitEngland will coordinate the campaign working closely with Cumbria Tourism on; an agreed programme of marketing activity, devised with the main aim of boosting future bookings in the domestic travel market and stimulating jobs in the area.

A second wave of activity will commence in late December with the aim of boosting bookings in the lead into 2013. The overall campaign will be fully integrated with Cumbria Tourism’s existing marketing activity and will be supported by digital, PR and thematic campaigns.

Ian Stephens, Managing Director of Cumbria Tourism, said: "The Lake District is one of the UK's strongest and most recognised destination brands, yet with increased competition from places like Scotland, Wales and the South West, it is now more important than ever for us to keep our offering fresh.

He added: “Cumbria Tourism is a ‘not for profit’ organisation which works closely with a huge range of private sector partners to grow the value of tourism to our area. There is the real potential to build on this campaign for the future and we at Cumbria Tourism will be constantly talking to potential partners to extend the campaign both terms of content and coverage to show to as wide an audience as possible the full range of things that the, Cumbria, has to offer.’’

James Berresford, VisitEngland’s Chief Executive, said: “The RGF money is a huge boost for tourism in England. This project enables our public and private sector partners to work together to stimulate tourism and ultimately grow jobs throughout the country with particular emphasis on some local areas. This is a great time to launch and we hope that by riding on the crest of a wave of a successful London 2012 Olympic Games we will harness the swell of national pride and inspire Brits to take the home advantage and holiday at home this year and beyond.”