The Sustainable Tourism Forum provides an opportunity for all those involved in the tourism industry in the Lake District and Cumbria to have a chance to debate the challenges and opportunities around Sustainable and Responsible Tourism. Ensuring that our tourism industry continues to be beneficial all round for people, environment and economy is vital.

We were delighted to share Dr Xavier Font’s knowledge and passion with Nurture members and friends during the ‘Marketing Edge’ event last week. It was a great success and proved to be popular and thought provoking;

‘Straight talking with excellent examples’

‘Refreshing approach busting some stereotypical assumptions’

Continue reading to discover Xavier’s insights into what customers really want to hear about your green features and surprisingly it’s NOT that you are sustainable, but you knew that already right?

You'll have heard of the Lake District. You'll probably have heard of the Yorkshire Dales. You may not have heard about the beautiful strip of the country nestling just in between the two. It's called the Eden Valley and it's more than a little bit special.

The Love Your Lakes mass Windermere leaflet drop was a hit! 15,380 residents around the Windermere catchment received a leaflet on the 14th Jan and local people may have heard me on radio. The associated PR prompted lots of folk to get in touch and share their p-free stories.

Looking back to this time last year, I can see that a lot has been happening for us at Nurture Lakeland. We’ve moved to larger office premises to accommodate our ever-growing little team; we’ve surpassed all of our previous fundraising achievements, no mean feat in the depths of a recession; and our membership continues to grow steadily. And the most momentous event of all – Nurture Lakeland has grown up, celebrating its 18^th birthday with a fabulous party in October.

As part of our 18^th celebrations we decided to capture the wishes of our supporters. Instead of allowing lovely positive thoughts to linger at the back of everyone’s minds, we used parcel tags and a fake tree to celebrate their sentiments!

Sitting hunched over our desks, beavering away on all manner of projects and campaigns, it’s very easy for us to become disconnected from the stunning backdrop to our true purpose –the awe-inspiring landscape which we’re working so hard to protect, through responsible tourism, to make sure Cumbria remains a stunning place to visit, live and work in. So....

Beep – beep – beep! Blinking into the no-light of a chilly autumn morning my semi-comatose brain registers that it’s 5.30 a.m. and I’m going to have to get out of bed NOW if I want to catch the ungodly-hour train from Oxenholme to Euston. Where am I off to? Well, I’ve been asked to take part in a presentation and panel discussion at the big deal that is the World Travel Market at the ExCel in London. Devoted Nurture Lakeland followers will remember that this is the same event where, last year, we were so proud to win the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Award for Best Destination.

Just over 7 months ago, I saw Nurture Lakeland’s Sustainable Tourism Intern post advertised and before I knew it, I was moving from inner-city Leeds over the Pennines to Kendal to start the role; boyfriend and piano in tow. As I come to the end of my contract, I’m aware both of how this time has whizzed by at 100 mph, and also how many things I’ve helped to achieve in this time. As I contemplate what I’ll be doing next, I’ve been thinking about what I’ll particularly remember from my time living and working in Cumbria and have picked my top 3 things

We wanted to celebrate in style and that we certainly did! For 18 years Nurture Lakeland has led the field in Visitor Giving, sometimes treading a lonely path in the world of Sustainable Tourism and conservation fundraising, but this week we were surrounded by friends and supporters old and new.