Cumbria tourism hits £3 billion

Friday, June 14, 2019

Cumbria tourism sector generated 3 billion pound for the county’s economy in 2018 as per Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor, commonly known as ‘STEAM’. It supported 65,000 jobs which is 20 per cent of the county’s total employment, new figures reveal. The rise in tourism is 3.7 per cent as compared to the previous year.

The annual assessment has taken place for the past 20 years and is produced on behalf of a partnership led by Cumbria Tourism and supported by Cumbria’s district councils, Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and the Lake District National Park Authority.

The biggest increases in value were in Eden (+8.6 per cent), South Lakeland (+5.6 per cent), Barrow (+4.2 per cent) and Copeland (+4.1 per cent).

South Lakeland district accounts for the greatest share of 3 billion pound tourism revenue at 44 per cent, followed by Carlisle with 18 per cent and Allerdale with 16 per cent.

The county also saw an increase in overnight stays in 2018, with an extra 410,000 bed nights across Cumbria. At the same time, there was a small drop in day visitors to Cumbria of -0.7 per cent.

Nigel Wilkinson, a Cumbria LEP Board member and chair of the Visitor Economy Sector Panel, said that the latest STEAM data confirms the strength of Cumbria’s tourism and Cumbria Tourism and partners success in taking this to the next level.

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