The first ever Cumbria Residents’ Week will take place from October 2 to October 10, 2021 with all businesses operating in the visitor economy invited to take part. 

It is hoped that the scheme will help to support the business community to bounce back from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic by encouraging Cumbria’s residents to sample the great attractions, venues, eateries, hotels, shops and more on their doorstep. 

The initiative has been put together through a partnership of Cumbria’s six district councils with the support of Cumbria Tourism and Keswick Tourism Association. 

The objective is to promote participating businesses to Cumbrian residents, offering them a chance to win prizes in a draw after making a qualifying purchase of over £10 between the 2 and 10 October 2021. There is no cost for businesses to participate other than donating a prize, which could be free entry, an overnight stay, a free meal or gift voucher for example. Businesses will need to pass on a code to Cumbrian residents once they have made a qualifying purchase so that they can enter the prize draw. 

If the week-long event is a success, it is hoped Residents’ Week will become part of the annual calendar in Cumbria. 

Joe Broomfield, Tourism Development Manager for Allerdale Borough Council, said: “We recognise the importance of tourism to the whole of the Cumbrian economy and are being fairly broad in our definition of ‘tourism businesses’ in this instance. We would welcome any Cumbrian business that has a significant number of tourists as their usual customers to participate in the initiative.” 

Cllr Tony Markley, Executive member for tourism at Allerdale Borough Council, said: “All businesses have had it tough over the course of the last year and all of the local authorities and Cumbrian tourism bodies are working hard to offer them the support they need with this initiative being another example of that. 

“Residents’ Week promises to be a great event and we’d love as many businesses as possible to take part and make it a huge success.”  

Anne Cornthwaite, Keswick Tourism Association chair, commented: “Covid-19 has really highlighted how important it is to support our local businesses. It is something that we have promoted throughout the pandemic and we hope that this initiative will continue to raise the profile of the “keep it local” message.”  

Copeland Borough Council’s Portfolio Holder for Tourism, Councillor Steve Morgan, said: “We are looking at lots of different ways to help businesses recover after the pandemic. It’s been a hard time and this is a great way for them to get some free promotion and connect with their local customers. Firms have been offering some fantastic prizes so far, and I would urge others to get involved and help boost business in Copeland.”  

Any business that wants to participate should complete the form on https://cumbriaresidentsweek.co.uk/ and organisers will then be in touch nearer to the time with further details about how the scheme will operate. Any queries about the initiative can be sent to tourism@allerdale.gov.uk.