A match made in…Cumbria. Train operator and tourist board join forces to promote year-round sustainable travel to region.

The train operator, which provides services to key stations across the county including Carlisle, Windermere and Grange-over-Sands, has become a ‘Strategic Partner’ of the region’s Destination Management Organisation (DMO).

The partnership will see both companies invest in activity to promote Cumbria and the Lake District as a year-round destination from towns and cities across Northern’s 500+ station network.

It will also seek to highlight the sustainability credentials of ‘holidaying at home’ here in the UK.

Commenting on the partnership, Mark Powles, commercial and customer director at Northern, said: “Cumbria has the potential to become Europe’s number one rural tourism destination – and it’s important we play our part in making that a reality.

“The connectivity that Northern offers across Cumbria and the Lake District is without parallel and the more people we can convince to ‘ditch the car and take the train’ the better.”

Managing director of Cumbria Tourism, Gill Haigh, adds, “Our Strategic Partners are a core network of organisations who want to get behind the industry and support us in our role as one of the UK’s leading Destination Management Organisations, growing the value of the county’s tourism sector and building a brighter, more sustainable future.

“We absolutely share Northern’s ambitions so this strengthened partnership, alongside our other travel partners at Stagecoach, is brilliant news for the county and will invigorate our collective efforts to inspire visitors to travel to and from the county on sustainable transport and make the journey part of their holiday experiences.”

Cumbria’s visitor economy contributed £3.1bn to the UK economy in 2019. It also supported 65,000 jobs pre-covid, equivalent to 26% of Cumbria’s working age population.

Working in partnership with organisations like Northern, Cumbria Tourism hopes to significantly raise the profile of the region as a sustainable, world class destination. A 1% growth in the tourism sector would add £30m to the economy and further benefit the cultural and social offer for those who live, work, study and invest in the region.