Simon Berry, chairman/managing director of English Lakes Hotels, says the Lake District tourism industry must invest in raising the quality of products and services

Business leaders from across the country will be meeting at Low Wood Bay this evening (February 4) for the Confederation of British Industry’s annual dinner in Cumbria.

The last month has been very difficult for many businesses, including in the tourism sector, because of the floods that hit the county. In these circumstances, it would be easy for businesses to take their eyes off their long-term strategies.

Despite the impact of the floods, there are good reasons to be optimistic about the prospects for tourism in the Lake District.

We are fortunate to attract so many loyal visitors. The UK economy is growing and incomes are rising. Low fuel prices mean the cost of getting to and around the Lakes has been significantly reduced. Business tourism is also increasing.

However, if the Lake District is to remain competitive with other tourism destinations in the UK and overseas, it is vital that the area is a vibrant pace, with the best offerings in all sectors including camping and caravanning, B&Bs, self-catering cottages, restaurants and hotels.

It is therefore crucial that we keep developing our businesses and invest in raising the quality of our products and services. Many of our competitors around the world are continually updating what they offer to visitors and we cannot afford to stand still.

It is important that we look at what our competitors are doing to see what we can learn in our own businesses. At English Lakes, we try to make sure that we get out to visit other businesses in the UK and overseas, to see what they are doing, right and wrong.

Websites, such as Tripadvisor, mean the public have more information about tourism business than ever before. This information is not always accurate, but it does mean businesses will suffer if they do not provide the kind of quality and value for money people expect.

That is partly about good training for staff to ensure our employees reflect the business’ core values and provide our customers with an excellent service.

Visitors to the Lake District increasingly also go on city breaks, where they get a different experience than has traditionally been available in rural areas. It is particularly important that we keep up to speed with the kind of food people want to eat.

Improving services over the next year or two will be particularly challenging because businesses face increased pressure on staffing costs. Therefore, we will need to find ways of driving up quality while delivering services more efficiently.

We also need to keep investing in our buildings and equipment. Inevitably during a recession businesses cut back on investment. However, if that continues for too long, it will start to affect the quality of our products and services and we will lose customers.

This is partly about regular maintenance to keep everything fresh and tidy. It also includes major investment to develop our products and services.

This year we will start work on developing the Low Wood Bay Resort Hotel and Marina on the shores of Windermere. We will create something the county can be proud of.

Our vision is to create the Lake District’s first world class luxury resort, including a new luxury spa, more rooms and suites, an additional new restaurant and reception lodge, as well as a new entrance drive.

Environmental sustainability will be an important part of the plans. We plan to meet as much of our energy needs as possible by using a biomass CHP and Hydro technology.

The Lake District's bid for World Heritage status reached an important milestone this week with the submission of the formal application.

If we invest to keep improving the quality of the products and services we offer our visitors, we can ensure that the Lake District is a world-class destination.