Visitor Giving Forum 2012

International interest in Visitor Giving

Nurture Lakeland Offers International Visitors Pre-Conference Insights

A group of Dutch and Belgian tourism and conservation professionals could not wait until mid-October to pick the brains of Cumbrian sustainable tourism and Visitor Giving experts, Nurture Lakeland, arriving a whole month before a scheduled Visitor Giving conference to view projects, glean information and pick up tips.

The group are part of the Sustainable Tourism in Estuary Parks (STEP) project and concerned with estuary and wetland landscapes, they wished to meet Nurture Lakeland employees, members and environmental partners, having had the organisation recommended to them by The Broads Authority in Norfolk.

Nurture Lakeland helped the Broads Authority set up a Visitor Giving scheme earlier this year, as part of the work carried out by its Nurture Tourism consultancy arm.   The scheme in Norfolk, called ‘Enjoy Give Protect’ is now up and running, helping to support conservation of the unique wetland landscape, Bruce Hanson from The Broads Authority was eager to share the experience with his STEP Partners and so suggested a trip to the Lake District to explore Visitor Giving in Cumbria.

 

The visit came a month before the date set for a high impact Visitor Giving Conference organised by Nurture Lakeland to share its expertise in Visitor Giving with tourism destinations, sustainable tourism projects, responsible-tourism focused businesses, environmental charities, AONBs and others wishing to learn from Nurture Lakeland’s 18 years’ experience in this field.

They group were treated to a sneak preview of some of the topics that the Conference will cover, by talking to businesses such as Ullswater ‘Steamers’ and New Ing Lodge, Shap, which raise money through a Visitor Giving scheme. In the ‘Steamers’ case, this helps repair the footpaths around Ullswater, which passengers frequently use, while New Ing’s fundraising scheme supports the Orton Community Woodland which its guests pass through on the Coast to Coast walk.

The visitors also gained an understanding of the Lake District National Park’s key involvement with Visitor Giving. The group met LDNP’s Bob Cartwright and saw for themselves the footpath restoration projects delivered by LDNP and The National Trust using money raised for Nurture Lakeland’s Fix the Fells project.

Their final day included hearing about on the Love Your Lakes campaign from Helen Moriarty and seeing how a luxury hotel – the Cedar Manor in Windermere - incorporates Visitor Giving into its sustainability programme.

Throughout the three days, the visitors shared their own project experiences and best practice with Nurture Lakeland and provided a valuable outside perspective on the scheme, commenting on the enthusiasm of the businesses they met and the value of bringing conservation and tourism businesses together for the goal. The Cumbrian organisation is now looking forward to its conference with even keener anticipation.

Nurture Lakeland director, Sue Savege, says: “This group’s visit showed us that, as well as sharing our own expertise and performing the role of guide and tutor when it comes to Visitor Giving and sustainable tourism, we should expect to learn just as much from the experiences of others at the conference.  We expect the October experience to be a two-way and highly enriching event”.