Viewpoint The digital magazine of CUMBRIA TOURISM
Spring 2023
Latest research highlights businesses’ top concerns Thank you to everyone who completed our latest Business Performance Tracker. The results are now in and reveal the top seven concerns for tourism businesses are all costrelated, with 94% highlighting rising energy bills. Other related issues include the impact of the cost of living crisis (71%) and passing on cost increases to customers (66%), as well as inflation (56%) and the cost of labour (52%) and fuel (48%). Carried out in conjunction with our Strategic Partner Lamont Pridmore, it also shows that 86% of businesses feel staff recruitment continues to be a significant challenge. Looking at business growth and confidence, the short-term picture is fairly pessimistic, but the figures do suggest signs of longer-term positivity and an improved situation compared to six months ago. The results come hot on the heels of the recent Spring Budget, which saw some welcome measures from the Government, including improved childcare provision, which we hope will help get more people into the labour market. However, many of the industry’s key asks were absent, including no help for businesses facing growing costs across the board. We are already using this vital new evidence to continue highlighting the key issues at government level, arguing why more innovative solutions are needed. To access a full summary of the research, log onto our Media Library. Also see page 6 for the latest on our work to tackle recruitment challenges and inspire future careers in the tourism industry.
Member survey results
From left: Gill Haigh, Steve Cram, Patricia Yates, Jim Walker and Richard Toomer
Leading voices in tourism Our recent Spring Members’ meeting was timed to coincide with English Tourism Week, making it the perfect time to discuss how CT is collaborating with partners to support and celebrate our incredible industry and its people. It brought together VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates alongside Richard Toomer from The Tourism Alliance. Both shared insights into ongoing challenges and consumer trends, as well as highlighting key campaigns to support our industry.
Accessibility toolkit unveiled
Meanwhile, former athlete Steve Cram revealed plans for Cumbria’s newest health and wellbeing ‘Wild GOAT’ Festival. He said while the events industry had suffered during the pandemic – and consumer tastes are changing – there’s still great potential for it to be a key driver for Cumbria’s visitor economy. For those able to attend, we hope you found the contributions useful and insightful. See the presentation slides here.
New tourism talent hub