Farron welcomes £1.65 million investment in Cumbrian tourism

Cumbrian MP, Tim Farron, has today welcomed new that VisitEngland is to invest £1.65million into promoting tourism in our county.

Earlier this year, VisitEngland made a successful bid to the Regional Growth Fund for £19.8million to support its 'Growing Tourism Locally' project aimed at supporting local tourism marketing and campaigns across the country. It is expected that the project will generate £365million in tourism spending and create 9,100 jobs in the tourism sector across the country over the next 3 years.

Last week, VisitEngland announced that it will be working closely with Cumbria Tourism to deliver tactical marketing to promote Cumbria as a holiday destination both at home and abroad. £900,000 is being made available from the RGF grant, which will be added to a further £750,000 in match-funding provided by private industry partnerships. It is predicted that this will create 371 new full-time, indirect jobs in the local tourism industry.

Commenting today Tim said: "This is fantastic news for the local tourism industry and for Cumbria as a whole. We all know that we have some of the more beautiful and picturesque landscapes in the whole of the UK and tourism plays a vital role in our local economy.

"It is absolutely essential that we do everything we can to promote Cumbria as a tourist destination to UK and foreign holiday makers and VisitEngland's project will play a big role in doing that. The funding will also provide a much needed boost to the local economy by creating much needed jobs for local people."