Pint of Drovers Gold for English Tourism Week please Landlord

ETW2015_MidlandHotelAppleby

Eden’s pubs were in the spotlight last week as part of a special event to launch English Tourism Week which runs from 14 – 22 March. The highlight was the unveiling of Drovers Gold which will go on sale at over 40 pubs around the Eden Valley during the week. Brewed by Penrith based Eden Brewery, Drovers Gold has been produced to help shine the spotlight on how important pubs are to the area’s vibrant tourism economy. All participating pubs will be given specially designed beer pull clips and beer mats that incorporate the official English Tourism Week logo.

Drovers Gold was launched during a reception hosted by Eden District Council’s tourism team at The Midland Hotel, Appleby in Westmorland. Guests were given the unique opportunity to travel to the event by heritage bus and train thanks to the generous support by Cumbria Classic Coaches and the Settle Carlisle Railway Development Company. A heritage bus took guests from Penrith to Langwathby were they joined a scheduled train service for the short ride to Appleby. The transport was used to demonstrate that many pubs around Eden can still be reached by using public transport via the famous train line or by taking one of several bus services that cover the area.

Rory Stewart MP – Penrith and The Border along with Brigid Simmonds, OBE FTS – Chief Executive of British Beer and Pub Association and Tim Page, Chief Executive of Campaign for Real Ale joined other invited guests to help launch English Tourism Week activities in Eden and around the country at the reception. They attended the event to demonstrate their commitment to tourism and the role pubs play in providing great hospitality and accommodation to people.

Paying tribute to the important role pubs have within the country’s multi million pound tourism industry Brigid Simmonds said: “I am delighted to be here, in one of the most beautiful parts of the country, to celebrate English Tourism Week. Tourism is vital to economic recovery, and Britain’s pubs are a key part of our tourism infrastructure. Here in Eden, pubs add £22 million each year to the local economy. Over one hundred pubs support around one thousand local jobs, and many of these depend on tourism. English Tourism Week is a vital reminder of the huge part played by tourism in the economy, at both the national and local level.”

English Tourism Week provides many opportunities for business across Eden and further afield to raise their profile and show the great work they do in an industry which for the Eden area generates £251.8 million for the local economy and provides 3,898 full time equivalent jobs.

“Once again, I am thrilled to be supporting Eden’s tourism industry during English Tourism Week,” said Rory Stewart MP (Penrith and The Border). “Eden is an exceptional place to live in and visit, and is attracting increased numbers of visitors year on year; an incredible 4.26m visited us in 2013, and this means a stronger economy and stronger communities. Our tourism industry does such a great job, and we should all congratulate everyone involved on the hard work they do. This year I am especially pleased that we are highlighting our hospitality industry, which helps to sustain almost 4,000 full-time jobs in the Eden area.”

During the lunchtime reception guests had the opportunity to talk to a selection of organisations that actively use pubs as part their wider visitor activities. These included CAMRA, Friends of Dales Rail, Ride 2 Stride (who include pubs as part of their annual walking events) and Stay in a Pub whose trade organisation promotes accommodation available in pubs around the country. The owners of The Midland Hotel, Clive and Amie Bissland, generously hosted the reception treating guests to food sourced through a number of local suppliers. Suppliers included Low Howgill Butchers, Dowdings of Appleby, Appleby Creamery, Stephensons and Eden Brewery.

Pubs such as The Midland highlight the many opportunities they have for engaging with visitors, providing not only an invaluable ambassadorial role for their area but also in keeping a community focal point alive especially in rural areas of the country like Eden. From providing people with great locations to have lunch, dinner and overnight stays to places where people can rest after a great walk or drive, pubs are able to offer so much when it comes to helping tourism. Supplying food and drink that is indigenous to a local area is also important.

Organisations such as Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) work with pubs and brewery’s around the country to raise awareness of beers produced by local breweries. “CAMRA is delighted to be able to draw attention to real ale during the launch of English Tourism Week in the spectacular Eden Valley – one of our most iconic and popular tourist destinations,” said Tim Page, CAMRA Chief Executive. “The brewing of beer and its consumption in pubs are two traditional features of English life that appeal to many of those who visit this country. The Eden Brewery, which has created a special commemorative beer to be sold in 40 local pubs during the week, is one of more than 1,300 across the UK who brew a variety of different ales enjoyed by a wide range adult drinkers of all ages and tastes. Beer and pubs are central to English culture and to tourism, so we encourage all of those who visit this country to step inside a pub and experience this significant part of English history and tradition.”

Paul Nunney, Director of Stay in a Pub whose organisation attended the event said: “The pub is an icon of British life and an attraction to all tourists both from home and abroad. It is renowned for social gatherings but today offers a much wider choice to everybody with great food and accommodation. English Tourism Week will allow pubs to focus on an important part of their customer base.”

The event is one of many that are taking place around the country to celebrate the important role tourism plays within the country’s economy. English Tourism Week has been co-ordinated for several years by VisitEngland and aims to showcase the quality and vibrancy of the visitor experiences and the value the tourism industry brings to our nation.

During English Tourism Week, tourism businesses are being encouraged by VisitEngland to run offers and special events which are being promoted to the public. People can find out about offers in their area by looking at www.visitengland.com

During 2013, Eden attracted 4.26 million visitors (up 3.2% on 2012), with a massive £251.8 million (up 7.8% on 2012) being spent by these visitors. During 2013 tourism accounted for 3,898 full-time equivalent jobs (up 4.3% on 2012) in Eden. (Source: STEAM).
More information: www.eden.gov.uk/business-and-the-economy/tourism-in-eden/

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