By Pamela McGowan

Last updated at 14:13, Wednesday, 07 November 2012

Cumbria's tourist industry has picked up two top national awards at a recent ceremony.

The British Travel Awards 2012 saw Cumbria Tourism clinch two silver awards – for the Best UK Visitor Guide Website and Best UK Holiday County or Region.

The announcement was made on November 1 at a gala dinner in London, in front of almost 1,000 representatives of the tourism industry.

The British Travel Awards is the largest in the UK, rewarding the best companies in the travel sector. It is recognised by consumers and professionals across the UK.

Categories covered all types of holiday experience – transport, destination, cruise, customer service, holiday extras, and accommodation.

This year over 600,000 individual votes were cast.

Ian Stephens, managing director, of Cumbria Tourism, said: ‘’Receiving awards like this go some way to demonstrating our commitment to developing tourism within the Lake District, Cumbria, and our continued desire to represent the area to the best of our ability, to maintain and meet visitor’s expectations and ensure we continue to be among the top flight destinations in the country.

“We constantly strive to improve the way we promote our county and with this in mind we are investing significantly in our digital marketing and flagship website GoLakes in the coming months to ensure that we continue to grow the destination for the future.’’

Tourism companies were nominated by the public before being voted for by consumers, including the readers of several national newspapers.

First published at 14:10, Wednesday, 07 November 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk