With Cumbria’s hospitality sector making final preparations before it is able to welcome visitors back, after almost four months of closure due to Covid-19, Cumbria Tourism has launched a brand new world class website that will both inspire visitors and aid the county’s economic recovery.

The site, www.visitlakedistrict.com, is a contemporary and fresh take on everything Cumbria has to offer visitors planning a holiday and local residents in need of a well-deserved day out or mini break.

It has been carefully designed to captivate and create desire amongst new visitor markets as well as those loyal visitors who make the county a regular destination.

Gorgeous videos, blogs and itineraries are further complimented by stunning photography.

And the content is brought further to life by the insightful and inspirational Lonely Planet writer and Cumbria Tourism team friend, Fionn Davenport.

Fionn says, “As a travel writer, it’s not often that I can earnestly declare a job to be a labour of love.

“A labour of interest, usually always, but love? That’s a little more elusive. But writing about Cumbria has been just that, as over the last few years I’ve grown to adore my adopted county – does being married to a Cumbrian count as legitimate grounds for adoption?

“I’ve also been fortunate enough to develop close ties with the team at Cumbria Tourism as a result of my work on England’s World Heritage Story: North, which has given me plenty of opportunities to explore the county more fully.

“When writing up the text for the website I had two objectives in mind: to accurately represent the myriad of things there are to see and do across the county and to make sure that my passion for the place came through in everything I wrote.”

Designed as an exciting journey of discovery and optimised for mobile phone browsing, the new design reflects the same fresh, spacious feel as Cumbria does itself, blending a more contemporary look with the traditional expectations enjoyed by millions of visitors every year.

The new, streamlined navigation menus also mean every type of experience is easy to find, from food & drink, culture, relaxation, adventure, our huge range of accommodation and much more.

Managing director of Cumbria Tourism, Gill Haigh, says, “Cumbria Tourism is the county’s official Destination Management Organisation and we represent one of the most beautiful places in the world. Our ambition therefore was to create a world class website that would not only showcase that beauty with the world but also stop people in their tracks and inspire them to visit or return, to make them say: ‘I never knew that’ or ‘I’ve got to go there’, or ‘I can’t wait to try that’, to discover new places or rediscover old, to try different experiences, check out our amazing local food and drink and products, to soak up the landscape, to learn new skills.

Our team and Fionn have done an absolutely fantastic job with this new website, which will make planning a visit to The Lake District, Cumbria, a mouthwatering and easy experience.

“We researched destination sites worldwide determined to make Cumbria’s the best of the best and engage and excite audiences. The tourism industry has been suffering terribly in recent months and this website will help people begin planning their future visits once again, as we begin to move into the next chapter.

“I’d like to thank all our member businesses for their support. We consider this website to be a tribute to their unwavering commitment to providing an unbeatable visitor offering, because it’s thanks to them that The Lake District, Cumbria is the world class destination we all love so much.”

You can see the new website at www.visitlakedistrict.com