Making Cumbria accessible to all

Did you know that 14% of visitor groups to our county include someone in the party with health issues or a disability that limits their daily activities? (*Cumbria Visitor Survey)

Meanwhile, VisitBritain estimates that people with health conditions and impairments – and their travelling companions – spend around £15 3 billion on trips in England each year

What s more, they are more likely to take longer trips and tend to make repeat bookings So there is a compelling business case for making tourism venues and experiences more inclusive

Our latest Accessible Cumbria campaign is all about helping our county to become a more accessible destination, both for visitors and residents travelling for leisure

This means catering for a diverse range of access needs, which will be unique to each individual; from those with often more obvious impairments, such as mobility issues or sight

We’ll be helping you to help others

Improving your accessibility for the benefit of all customers doesn’t necessarily involve big, expensive changes.

CT will be working with partners to help operators access business support and events throughout the year – helping you meet the needs of this key market

It was inspiring to see such a great turn out at Fell Foot for the recent Accessible Cumbria Conference, with speakers including Ross Calladine from VisitEngland, Debbie North of Access Dales and Louise Birkett from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

Accessibility will also be the key theme at the Cumbria Tourism AGM on Thursday 14 June We re lining up some fantastic headline speakers, so watch this space for more details!