Businesses from Cumbria’s thriving cultural and tourism sectors have vowed to work more closely than ever before.

More than 50 organisations came face-to-face for a special event at the at the Daffodil Hotel & Spa in Grasmere on Thursday, February 2, to improve understanding and awareness of the Lake District as a cultural destination.

The networking event was organised by the Lakes Culture project to strengthen relationships between hoteliers, tourist attractions and the cultural sector.

The event included interactive workshops and a programme of inspirational speakers such as Christine Cort from the Manchester International Festival, who spoke about economic and reputational value of culture to the city.

Project manager of Lakes Culture, Usha Mistry, said: “It was evident from the positive feedback from both cultural and tourism-based organisations that there is a real appetite to see Cumbria shine as a place to experience great music, art and theatre as part of a complete visitor package.

“We are all striving to showcase the Lake District as the UK’s leading rural cultural destination and this was a really productive event bringing the two sectors together to discuss how we can promote better two-way conversations and collectively help drive up visitor numbers.

She added: “There a was a real buzz in the room when accommodation providers and attractions sat down face to face with cultural organisations to come up with practical ideas and plans for working together in the future.

“Now the challenge is to keep the momentum going so we can make the most of shared opportunities and overcome some of the challenges in appealing to cultural visitors.”