The Partnership's Plan - Lake District National Park

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World class visitor experience – Issues and actions The world class visitor experience features: • Sustainable tourism and visitor facilities and • Education, access and outdoor recreation 3.5 Sustainable tourism and visitor facilities 3.5.1 Facts and challenges • Tourism’s role in the environment and National Park economy is massive. In 2008, 15.3 million tourist trips were made to Cumbria comprising 5 million overnight visitors and 10.3 million day visitors. This generated 28.5 million tourist days. • More than eight million visitors come to the National Park each year (source STEAM 2008), spending over 15 million visitor days here. The visitor economy results in direct spending on accommodation, catering and visitor facilities. In 2008, tourism included indirect expenditure of £167 million on local business supporting and serving tourism business. In 2008, the total value of expenditure was £677 million. • Operating on marginal profitability, many small and medium sized tourism businesses have not matched investment in updated accommodation and facilities with customer expectations. Whilst much of the Lake District has vibrant and interesting settlements and shopping areas, some locations such as Bowness on Windermere and Ambleside need re-invigorating. Many businesses have been reluctant to join the national quality grading scheme because of the initial expense and obligations to continue investing. • Affordable flights from across the UK allow the customer greater destination choice. The web provides readily accessible information, easier ‘bookability’ and a wide range of accommodation. And many UK destinations, particularly cities, have significantly improved and invested heavily in contemporary marketing campaigns, festivals and events. Despite 20 per cent growth in UK inbound passengers over the last five years Cumbria has seen no significant increase in overseas visitors. • Sustainable tourism is built into the current and future policy framework in the Lake District in a number of ways: o The Good Practice Guide on Planning for Tourism supports the principles of sustainable development for tourism o The Department of Culture Media and Sport has published a document: ‘Sustainable Tourism in England: A framework for action’ o The emerging Lake District Core Strategy (2010) o Many private sector businesses now recognise the value sustainable and green measures can have for their business and a number of case studies exist. A number are illustrated within the ‘Low-carbon Lake District’ report (2008). • Sustainable tourism is not a new theme for the Lake District and it features prominently in both policy and in existing action plans: o Adopting sustainable tourism as a brand is key to influencing a vast audience about sustainability generally. The English National Park Authorities Association has adopted a position statement on sustainable tourism that includes the following definition: 36
‘any form of development, management or tourist activity which ensures the long-term protection and preservation of natural, cultural and social resources and contributes in a positive and equitable manner to the economic development and well-being of individuals living, working or staying in protected areas.’ o The Lake District Sustainable Transport Framework includes proposals that will influence sustainable transport choice for visitors and local people. These will be included in the Cumbria Local Transport Plan in 2011. o Individual pilot schemes such as ‘Give the Driver a Break’ and the B4 network (boats, boots, bikes and buses) have already been delivered. o Sustainable transport features as a key driver in the Windermere Waterfront Programme. 3.5.2 Recent activity and successes In the last ten years, research has identified much of the Lake District’s visitor offer and the quality of its core service centres as ‘tired and faded’. They need rejuvenating. The Lake District Economic Futures study (NWDA) is a key study. Cumbria’s vision for tourism, proposed in Cumbria Tourism’s strategy (‘Making the Dream a Reality: 2008 – 2018) states: In 2018 Cumbria, as well as being known for world-class landscapes, will have an unrivalled reputation for outdoor adventure, heritage and culture with a year round programme of events. Our accommodation, our food, our public realm and our customer service will reinforce our reputation as the number one rural destination in the UK. Cumbria Tourism’s Adventure Capital UK Strategy (2009) priorities for action include: • Landscape - the core: Develop the tourism industry so that it returns an appropriate investment into its core asset: the landscape. • Outdoor adventure, heritage and culture, food and drink and events - the visitor experiences: Develop those experiences that sit well in our landscape and will attract visitors to Cumbria and give them opportunities to spend money. • Accommodation, public realm and customer service - the basics: Invest in those parts of the visitor experience that (while they are not the main reasons for people to come here) will, if we do them well, make sure our visitors have a great time. And vitally we need to make sure that people are able to get to, and around, the county easily by road, rail and air and sustainable transport alternatives. • Marketing - the means to an end: Distinctive marketing to re-establish Cumbria’s leading tourism brands as appealing, modern destinations. We need to focus on the right people with a strong offer and persuade them to come here – for the first time or time and again – never forgetting they could so easily choose somewhere else. The Adventure Capital Initiative and the development of the Moot Hall as an Adventure and information Centre is an example of what is possible. • Sustainable transport: The development of sustainable travel, including walking and cycling. 37
Page 1 and 2: Partnership The Partnership’s Pla
Page 3 and 4: Contents Page Foreword 1 Welcome to
Page 5: Foreword Having been Chairman on th
Page 8 and 9: Why is the Plan different and what
Page 10 and 11: Guiding principles for the Partners
Page 12 and 13: Links to the Local Development Fram
Page 15 and 16: PART ONE - What the Lake District l
Page 17 and 18: History of tourism and outdoor acti
Page 19 and 20: PART TWO - Where we want to be This
Page 21 and 22: 2.2 Financial commitments All our w
Page 23 and 24: World class visitor experiences The
Page 25: Spectacular landscape, wildlife and
Page 28 and 29: What does it look like now - Specia
Page 30 and 31: • There are also challenges from
Page 32 and 33: There needs to be a supply of local
Page 34 and 35: • Identify, develop and initiate
Page 36 and 37: 3.4 Prosperous economy - Actions fo
Page 38 and 39: Action No. Action How Complete by L
Page 42 and 43: Underlining these five priority act
Page 44 and 45: 3.6 Education, access and outdoor r
Page 46 and 47: Interpretation is more than informa
Page 52 and 53: • Cumbria Fells and Dales Local A
Page 54 and 55: • There is immense pressure on ou
Page 56 and 57: 3.11.2 Recent activity and successe
Page 58 and 59: 3.13 Vibrant communities - Actions
Page 62 and 63: Spectacular landscape, wildlife and
Page 64 and 65: The Low-carbon Lake District work c
Page 66 and 67: Cumbria Freshwater Invasive Non Nat
Page 68 and 69: • English Heritage’s Scheduled
Page 70 and 71: The Cumbrian Fells have provided ac
Page 72 and 73: 3.5 Spectacular landscape - Actions
Page 81 and 82: PART FOUR - Implementing and monito
Page 83 and 84: 13 Maintain the number of settlemen
Page 85 and 86: Annex A Statement of Outstanding Un
Page 87 and 88: Wordsworth’s Romantic vision, sha
Page 89 and 90: Annex B The Lake District National
Page 91:
Annex C National Park Profile (2009
Page 94:
A Renewed Focus on Achieving the Pa
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The Partnership's Plan - Lake District National Park

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