Hoping that the few LMH'ers in the area might spot this thread and give their opinions.
We signed up with the CTB at start up; time for renewal. For us, they do very little - they seem entirely focussed on the Lake District, and their website, entitled GoLakes, makes what almost seems to be a grudging admission that there are other parts of Cumbria that are very attractive in their own right - and with far less traffic.
Do those of you who are within the area they serve best, ie the Lakes, get anything out of the CTB, and what?
Do those of you who aren't in the Lakes, like us (in the Howgills), share my view that they're not really worth the time and money, or do you find any benefit from them?
Had an interesting chat with the VB inspector recently, whose patch covers most of the North West, and it took no prompting for him to volunteer an opinion on the CTB that included the words "thumbs" and "backsides".
Any thoughts?
Cumbria Tourist Board
I used to be a member (of Cumbria Tourism as they are now known) a number of years back (via two different businesses, one being a self-catering complex).
I would agree that they seem to promote the central Lakes more than the outlying areas, much like VisitBritain has a tendancy to focus on London and forgets the rest.
I also wonder about the focus of their marketing activities sometimes. I recently invited them to contribute to http://www.ukseries.com/blog with the opportunity of posting information about the area (eg. news, events, etc. specific to Cumbria). Those blog posts go out to around 25,000 Twitter followers and over 1,000 Facebook fans. I received a reply saying that my email was passed on, but then never heard back. I chased the person my email was forwarded to, but again didn't hear back.
Instead, I get the distinct impression that they'd sooner spend their marketing time 'playing' with stuff like sheep ringtones and iPhone apps where you can skim stones. Go figure.
I would agree that they seem to promote the central Lakes more than the outlying areas, much like VisitBritain has a tendancy to focus on London and forgets the rest.
I also wonder about the focus of their marketing activities sometimes. I recently invited them to contribute to http://www.ukseries.com/blog with the opportunity of posting information about the area (eg. news, events, etc. specific to Cumbria). Those blog posts go out to around 25,000 Twitter followers and over 1,000 Facebook fans. I received a reply saying that my email was passed on, but then never heard back. I chased the person my email was forwarded to, but again didn't hear back.
Instead, I get the distinct impression that they'd sooner spend their marketing time 'playing' with stuff like sheep ringtones and iPhone apps where you can skim stones. Go figure.
Interesting that when Twitter was taking off I noticed that @CumbriaTourism was still available so I bagged it to stop anyone else sitting on it and offered it to CT by email.
They sent a very nice email back saying that they'd rather use @LakeDistrictPR thanks.
In spite of only tweeting
"Just holding this name in case Cumbria Tourism want it at some stage (free) so there won't be anything terribly exciting posted here
"
I still have 342 followers
Anyway, perhaps that tells you what you needed to know GB?
They sent a very nice email back saying that they'd rather use @LakeDistrictPR thanks.
In spite of only tweeting
"Just holding this name in case Cumbria Tourism want it at some stage (free) so there won't be anything terribly exciting posted here
"I still have 342 followers
Anyway, perhaps that tells you what you needed to know GB?
Unbelievable! I didn't realise blinkers came in that size......Windy wrote:
They sent a very nice email back saying that they'd rather use @LakeDistrictPR thanks.
A CT Scan:
Curtains open to reveal an official at a desk at the offices of Cumbria Tourism
Tum ti tum ti tum ti tum.......
Looks out of window
Ah.. the Lake District's still there.
Tum ti tum ti tum ti tum.......
Curtains close
)