MP welcomes £10 million for northern tourism strategy

Cumbrian MP Tim Farron has welcomed an announcement that £10 million has been secured from the Regional Growth Fund for the development of a new strategy for tourism in the North.

Ring-fenced funding will be channelled into the national tourist body for our country, VisitEngland, with support from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. This will need to be matched by local funds to ensure potential tourists are provided with a compelling joined up picture of what's on offer in the North.

Currently, there are 29 bodies pulling people to their individual localities in the North. The government plan to bring harmony to the current offer from 29 individual tourism boards into one great offer.

The whole of the North only accounted for 22% of all visits to English tourist attractions.

Tim said: "Any extra support and funding to boost the Cumbrian tourism sector is welcome. I regularly press ministers to provide more funding to allow us to turn the Lake District into a UK 'attack brand'. It seems like that lobbying has, in part, brought about this announcement. I will be bidding for a major slice of this funding to make sure our tourism sector gets the help it needs."