Around 25 Eden tourism businesses met online this week to share ideas and reflect on their summer season which has been boosted by an increase in staycation visitors.
The Eden Tourism Network met via Microsoft Teams and heard presentations from Mark Horton, general manager at Ullswater Steamers, Suzy Hankin, area ranger for the National Park and the Quiet Place’s owner, Daniel Holder.
Jessica Goodfellow, Joint Tourism Manager for Eden Tourism, Eden District Council, said: “This was the second time that we have held a virtual network this year and everyone seems to really appreciate the chance to learn from each other and are prepared to be open and frank about what has worked and what can be improved.
“When things started to reopen at the beginning of July people were quite tentative, but as we got to the school holidays confidence has grown and since then things have been very busy. Obviously businesses are having to work with a reduced capacity and their costs will have gone up with all the extra cleaning to be Covid secure, but the resilience of Eden’s tourism businesses has been phenomenal.”
In their presentation Ullswater Steamers detailed the efforts they put into reassuring customers before, during and following a trip with videos produced so people knew what to expect on board to remain socially distant.
Businesses also discussed the need to engage with visitors who may be coming to the Lakes for the first time and give them easy to follow messages about respecting the countryside.
The next Eden Tourism Network will be in either December or January and the Eden Tourism Summit is due to take place online on Wednesday October 14th.
