Tourist board brings in £77 for every £1 spent
A £1m series of marketing campaigns run by Cumbria Tourist Board to counter Foot and Mouth resulted in a £77 million boost to the region’s economy.
The success of the campaigns came at the most important time for the tourist industry in Cumbria as it sought to start the recovery from Foot and Mouth. The high level of return in the board’s investment was described as “excellent news for the industry” by chief executive Chris Collier.
She said: “To bring in £77 into the region’s economy for every £1 we spent during 2001 is an excellent result showing just how effective our marketing campaigns have been. To have achieved that against all the negative publicity of Foot and Mouth make it all the more remarkable.”
The tourist board carried out in depth research into its marketing campaigns to measure their effectiveness. As well as measuring the number of people who replied to adverts, further work is being done to find out how many actually visit Cumbria as a direct result of the board marketing work.
Most of the campaigns had a conversion rate of between 30% and 40 % – the proportion of people replying to the adverts who then came on Holiday. And of those who didn’t visit during 2001 – three quarters said they were planning to visit in the next two years.
“We ran a wide range of marketing campaigns but it was the integrated nature of the work, linking advertising with direct mail, public relations and the internet which has paid dividends for the tourism industry in Cumbria,” said Ms Collier.
Currently the board is working on a wider range of campaigns which include promotion of activity breaks, gardens, culture and heritage and Cumbrian food as well as new internet sites, promotions to visitors at the Manchester Commonwealth Games supported by a range of new publications.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt