Free hotel rooms in Lake District to boost tourism (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Free hotel rooms in Lake District to boost tourism

12:01pm Tuesday 22nd December 2009 in

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FREE accomodation in the Lake District will be given away as part of a bid to prove Cumbria is open for business after a “catastrophic fall-off in trade” following the recent floods.

The ‘Free Sunday’ scheme is the brainchild of Lakes Hospitality Association (LHA) which will take out full-page adverts in almost every regional newspaper in the country.

The hope is that Cumbrian hotels and guesthouses will join in the cause and give away some rooms with breakfast across five Sundays from January 10 to February 7. In return they will benefit from the exposure of free advertising.

Jonathan Denby, chairman of Lakes Hospitality Association, who has three star hotels in South Lakeland, said: “I am happy to donate all of my one hundred and twenty eight bedrooms in my hotels for each of the five Sundays of this scheme.

“It is vital that we get the message out that the roads are clear, the shops are open, the attractions are waiting and the hotels are ready. "In other words, the Lake District is fully prepared to accept visitors once again.”

The LHA points out that holidaymakers are likely to spend on drinks and extra meals, and there is also the opportunity for visitors to book one or two extra nights at £25 per person, per night if they decide to stay longer.

Mr Denby who owns The Newby Bridge, The Riverside and Damson Dene Hotels added: “I would like to urge all hotel and guesthouse owners to forget the bottom-line for a few weeks and join in this promotion, which in the long run will provide us with a dramatic and much needed boost.”