COPELAND Council will host the first Copeland Tourism Summit this month to showcase the “outstanding” tourism opportunities within the borough.
Hosted by Mike Starkie, the Mayor of Copeland, the February 15 Summit will feature a range of speakers from different sectors of the industry who will make commitments towards increasing tourism in the borough.
Speaking at the event at St Bees Management Centre are: Julie Betteridge (Copeland Council Executive Director); Peter Frost-Pennington (Director of Muncaster Castle); Gill Haigh (Managing Director of Cumbria Tourism); Trudy Harrison MP; Steve Ratcliffe (Director of Sustainable Development at the Lake District National Park Authority) and Nigel Wilkinson (Member of the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership Board).
Mr Starkie said: “There is a huge opportunity for Copeland to enjoy a greater share of the tourism industry, and we want to encourage as many people as possible to explore our outstanding tourism offer.
“Complemented by our soon-to-be-opened Tourist Information Hub for Copeland, the Summit will bring partners together to focus attention on our borough, our attractions and our hospitality industry to jointly highlight Copeland as the jewel in the area’s crown.”
Gill Haigh, Managing Director of Cumbria Tourism, added: “Copeland is increasingly popular with visitors not only from the UK, but from across the world.
“Our most recent analysis confirms a total of 3.62 million annual visitors visited the borough in 2017 – up 4.6 per cent on the previous year. This reflects Cumbria Tourism’s continuing ‘attract and disperse’ policy, utilising the strength of the Lake District brand to draw people in and encouraging them to discover and explore the exceptional offer of the wider county.
“I’m looking forward to speaking at the Summit and building on this momentum to maximise the benefits of tourism for the local economy.”
