A straw poll of Keswick Tourism Association members showed that the majority felt the 2023 season had been about the same as last year.
Asked about how this season had compared to 2022, 63 per cent said it had been about the same, 20 per cent felt it had been better, while 17 per cent claimed it had been worse.
They were also asked how positive they were feeling about 2024 and 19 per cent were positive, 40 per cent fairly positive, 22 per cent neutral and 19 per cent not very positive.
The responses were mainly from accommodation providers.
KTA tourism manager Vanesa Metcalfe said accommodation members who used the Inn Style booking system took £2.7m in bookings this year to date compared to £2.3m over the same period last year.
“The general feeling is that it was a good year, on a par with 2022, although day visitors were down which tallies with the feedback we have had from some retail and attractions,” said Vanessa. “Visits to our website are up on last year, as is engagement on social media.”
Meanwhile, new Cumbria Tourism research has revealed the full impact of the financial pressures tourism operators are facing as they head into winter 2023 – and provides vital, up-to-the-minute data the organisation can use to fight Cumbria’s corner on the national stage.
Carried out with Lamont Pridmore, Cumbria Tour-ism’s latest business performance survey reveals the top eight concerns for tourism operators this autumn are all cost-related, either directly impacting businesses themselves or their customers.
Eighty-six per cent are concerned about increased costs in general, while 78 per cent highlight rising energy bills and 71 per cent worry about passing on cost increases to customers — up from 66 per cent six months ago.
The cost-of-living crisis, inflation, labour costs, fuel costs and interest rates are all cited as additional challenges.
Staffing issues also continue to be a major issue for Cumbria’s tourism businesses. Increasing wage costs are a problem for 94 per cent of tourism operators, while 79 per cent say recruitment of staff is an issue. A lack of applicants is a concern for 86 per cent and this is compounded by a loss of European staff post-Brexit.
At the same time, there are signs of longer-term positivity with almost half of all tourism businesses anticipating growth over the next five years.
It’s a complex picture that Cumbria Tourism will be highlighting to MPs, trade bodies and central government — to ensure local, regional and national decision-makers address the key issues facing the county’s visitor economy.
Managing director of Cumbria Tourism, Gill Haigh, said: “This real-life data comes direct from tourism businesses and really is invaluable.
“For instance, evidence provided by our Spring Business Performance Survey earlier this year was instrumental in highlighting issues around staff transport and led to a number of bus routes across Cumbria being reinstated.
“This latest evidence again underlines a range of financial pressures which are continuing to squeeze profitability. It also proves that ongoing issues around recruitment and retainment haven’t gone away.
“This is compelling evidence which we will be using to fight Cumbria’s corner through our ongoing lobbying work both regionally and nationally.”
